U.S. patent application number 13/478994 was filed with the patent office on 2013-02-21 for digital whiteboard collaboration apparatuses, methods and systems.
The applicant listed for this patent is Ammon Haggerty, Steve Mason, Jeffrey Jon Reuschel, Clarkson Sheppard Thorp. Invention is credited to Ammon Haggerty, Steve Mason, Jeffrey Jon Reuschel, Clarkson Sheppard Thorp.
Application Number | 20130047093 13/478994 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47217714 |
Filed Date | 2013-02-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130047093 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Reuschel; Jeffrey Jon ; et
al. |
February 21, 2013 |
DIGITAL WHITEBOARD COLLABORATION APPARATUSES, METHODS AND
SYSTEMS
Abstract
The DIGITAL WHITEBOARD COLLABORATION APPARATUSES, METHODS AND
SYSTEMS ("DWC") transform user multi-element touchscreen gestures
via DWC components into updated digital collaboration whiteboard
objects. In one embodiment, the DWC obtains user whiteboard input
from a client device participating in a digital collaborative
whiteboarding session. The DWC parses the user whiteboard input to
determine user instructions, and modifies a tile object included in
the digital collaborative whiteboarding session according to the
determined user instructions. The DWC generates updated client
viewport content for the client device. Also, the DWC determines
that client viewport content of a second client device should be
modified because of modifying the tile object included in the
digital whiteboard. The DWC generates updated client viewport
content for the second client device after determining that the
content of the second client device should be modified, and
provides the updated client viewport content to the second client
device.
Inventors: |
Reuschel; Jeffrey Jon;
(Hamilton, MI) ; Mason; Steve; (San Francisco,
CA) ; Thorp; Clarkson Sheppard; (Byron Center,
MI) ; Haggerty; Ammon; (Oakland, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Reuschel; Jeffrey Jon
Mason; Steve
Thorp; Clarkson Sheppard
Haggerty; Ammon |
Hamilton
San Francisco
Byron Center
Oakland |
MI
CA
MI
CA |
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
47217714 |
Appl. No.: |
13/478994 |
Filed: |
May 23, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61489238 |
May 23, 2011 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
715/753 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G09G 2370/10 20130101;
G06F 1/1626 20130101; G09G 2370/027 20130101; G06F 2203/0383
20130101; G06F 9/451 20180201; G09G 2370/025 20130101; G09G
2360/122 20130101; G06F 3/1423 20130101; G09B 19/00 20130101; G06F
3/1454 20130101; G09B 5/02 20130101; G06F 3/04883 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/753 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/01 20060101
G06F003/01 |
Claims
1. A digital collaborative whiteboarding processor-implemented
method, comprising: obtaining user whiteboard input from a client
device of a user participating in a digital collaborative
whiteboarding session; parsing the user whiteboard input to
determine user instructions; identifying a user instruction based
on parsing the user whiteboard input; modifying an attribute of the
digital collaborative whiteboarding session according to the
identified user instruction; generating updated client viewport
content for the client device; and providing the updated client
viewport content to the client device.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the attribute of the
digital collaborative whiteboarding session includes modifying a
client viewport specification associated with the client
device.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the attribute of the
digital collaborative whiteboarding session includes modifying a
tile object included in a digital whiteboard that is part of the
digital collaborative whiteboarding session.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: determining that
client viewport content of a second client device should be
modified because of modifying the tile object included in the
digital whiteboard; generating updated client viewport content for
the second client device after determining that the client viewport
content of the second client device should be modified; and
providing, to the second client device, the updated client viewport
content for the second client device.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user whiteboard input
includes data on a touchscreen gesture performed by the user.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the client device is one of: a
multi-user touchscreen device; and a mobile touchscreen-enabled
device.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user instructions include
client viewport modification instructions and tile object
modification instructions.
8. A digital collaborative whiteboarding system, comprising: a
processor; and a memory disposed in communication with the
processor and storing processor-executable instructions to: obtain
user whiteboard input from a client device of a user participating
in a digital collaborative whiteboarding session; parse the user
whiteboard input to determine user instructions; identify a user
instruction based on parsing the user whiteboard input; modify an
attribute of the digital collaborative whiteboarding session
according to the identified user instruction; generate updated
client viewport content for the client device; and provide the
updated client viewport content to the client device.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein modifying the attribute of the
digital collaborative whiteboarding session includes modifying a
client viewport specification associated with the client
device.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein modifying the attribute of the
digital collaborative whiteboarding session includes modifying a
tile object included in a digital whiteboard that is part of the
digital collaborative whiteboarding session.
11. The system of claim 10, the memory further storing instructions
to: determine that client viewport content of a second client
device should be modified because of modifying the tile object
included in the digital whiteboard; generate updated client
viewport content for the second client device after determining
that the client viewport content of the second client device should
be modified; and provide, to the second client device, the updated
client viewport content for the second client device.
12. The system of claim 8, wherein the user whiteboard input
includes data on a touchscreen gesture performed by the user.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the client device is one of: a
multi-user touchscreen device; and a mobile touchscreen-enabled
device.
14. The method of claim 8, wherein the user instructions include
client viewport modification instructions and tile object
modification instructions.
15. A processor-readable tangible medium storing
processor-executable digital collaborative whiteboarding
instructions to: obtain user whiteboard input from a client device
of a user participating in a digital collaborative whiteboarding
session; parse the user whiteboard input to determine user
instructions; identify a user instruction based on parsing the user
whiteboard input; modify an attribute of the digital collaborative
whiteboarding session according to the identified user instruction;
generate updated client viewport content for the client device; and
provide the updated client viewport content to the client
device.
16. The medium of claim 15, wherein modifying the attribute of the
digital collaborative whiteboarding session includes modifying a
client viewport specification associated with the client
device.
17. The medium of claim 15, wherein modifying the attribute of the
digital collaborative whiteboarding session includes modifying a
tile object included in a digital whiteboard that is part of the
digital collaborative whiteboarding session.
18. The medium of claim 17, further storing instructions to:
determine that client viewport content of a second client device
should be modified because of modifying the tile object included in
the digital whiteboard; generate updated client viewport content
for the second client device after determining that the client
viewport content of the second client device should be modified;
and provide, to the second client device, the updated client
viewport content for the second client device.
19. The medium of claim 15, wherein the user whiteboard input
includes data on a touchscreen gesture performed by the user.
20. The medium of claim 19, wherein the client device is one of: a
multi-user touchscreen device; and a mobile touchscreen-enabled
device.
21. The medium of claim 15, wherein the user instructions include
client viewport modification instructions and tile object
modification instructions.
Description
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 USC .sctn.119 to
U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/489,238 filed May
23, 2011, entitled "DIGITAL WHITEBOARD COLLABORATION APPARATUSES,
METHODS AND SYSTEMS," attorney docket no. 21445-003PV. The entire
contents of the aforementioned application are expressly
incorporated by reference herein.
[0002] This application for letters patent discloses and describes
various novel innovations and inventive aspects of DIGITAL
WHITEBOARD COLLABORATION technology (hereinafter "disclosure") and
contains material that is subject to copyright, mask work, and/or
other intellectual property protection. The respective owners of
such intellectual property have no objection to the facsimile
reproduction of the disclosure by anyone as it appears in published
Patent Office file/records, but otherwise reserve all rights.
FIELD
[0003] The present innovations generally address apparatuses,
methods, and systems for digital collaboration, and more
particularly, include DIGITAL WHITEBOARD COLLABORATION APPARATUSES,
METHODS AND SYSTEMS ("DWC").
BACKGROUND
[0004] In some instances, users may be required to work
collaboratively with each other to achieve efficient results in
their undertakings. Such users may sometimes be located remotely
from each other. The collaborative interactions between such users
may sometimes require communication of complex information.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] The accompanying appendices and/or drawings illustrate
various non-limiting, example, inventive aspects in accordance with
the present disclosure:
[0006] FIGS. 1A-K shows a block diagram illustrating example
aspects of digital whiteboard collaboration in some embodiments of
the DWC;
[0007] FIGS. 2A-B show data flow diagrams illustrating an example
procedure to initiate a whiteboarding session for a user in some
embodiments of the DWC;
[0008] FIGS. 3A-B show logic flow diagrams illustrating example
aspects of initiating a whiteboarding session for a user in some
embodiments of the DWC, e.g., a Whiteboard Collaborator Session
Initiation ("WCSI") component 300;
[0009] FIG. 4 shows a logic flow diagram illustrating example
aspects of generating viewport specification for a client of a
whiteboarding session collaborator in some embodiments of the DWC,
e.g., a Client Viewport Specification ("CVS") component 400;
[0010] FIG. 5 shows a logic flow diagram illustrating example
aspects of generating viewport content for a client of a
whiteboarding session collaborator in some embodiments of the DWC,
e.g., a Viewport Content Generation ("VCG") component 500;
[0011] FIGS. 6A-C show data flow diagrams illustrating an example
procedure to facilitate collaborative whiteboarding among a
plurality of users in some embodiments of the DWC;
[0012] FIGS. 7A-D show logic flow diagrams illustrating example
aspects of facilitating collaborative whiteboarding among a
plurality of users in some embodiments of the DWC, e.g., a User
Collaborative Whiteboarding ("UCW") component 700;
[0013] FIGS. 8A-I show block diagrams illustrating example aspects
of a pie-menu user whiteboarding gesture system for digital
whiteboard collaboration in some embodiments of the DWC;
[0014] FIGS. 9A-C show block diagrams illustrating example aspects
of a chord-based user whiteboarding gesture system for digital
whiteboard collaboration in some embodiments of the DWC;
[0015] FIG. 10 shows a logic flow diagram illustrating example
aspects of identifying user gestures of a whiteboarding session
collaborator in some embodiments of the DWC, e.g., a User Gesture
Identification ("UGI") component 1000;
[0016] FIGS. 11A-B show block diagrams illustrating example aspects
of a whiteboarding telepresence system for digital whiteboard
collaboration in some embodiments of the DWC; and
[0017] FIG. 12 shows a block diagram illustrating embodiments of a
DWC controller;
[0018] The leading number of each reference number within the
drawings indicates the figure in which that reference number is
introduced and/or detailed. As such, a detailed discussion of
reference number 101 would be found and/or introduced in FIG. 1.
Reference number 201 is introduced in FIG. 2, etc.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Digital Whiteboard Collaboration (DWC)
[0019] The DIGITAL WHITEBOARD COLLABORATION APPARATUSES, METHODS
AND SYSTEMS (hereinafter "DWC") transform user multi-element
touchscreen gestures, via DWC components, into updated digital
collaboration whiteboard objects. FIGS. 1A-K shows a block diagram
illustrating example aspects of digital whiteboard collaboration in
some embodiments of the DWC. In some implementations, a plurality
of users, e.g., 101a-d, may desire to collaborate with each other
in the creation of complex images, music, video, documents, and/or
other media, e.g., 103a-d. The users may be scattered across the
globe in some instances. Users may utilize a variety of devices in
order to collaborate with each other, e.g., iota-c. In some
implementations, such devices may each accommodate a plurality of
users (e.g., device 102c accommodating users 101c and 101d). In
some implementations, the DWC may utilize a central collaboration
server, e.g., 105, and/or whiteboard database, e.g., 106, to
achieve collaborative interaction between a plurality of devices,
e.g., 104a-c. In some implementations, the whiteboard database may
have stored a digital whiteboard. For example, a digital
collaboration whiteboard may be stored as data in memory, e.g., in
whiteboard database 106. The data may, in various implementations,
include image bitmaps, video objects, multi-page documents,
scalable vector graphics, and/or the like. In some implementations,
the digital collaboration whiteboard may be comprised of a
plurality of logical subdivisions or tiles, e.g., 107aa-107mn. In
some implementations, the digital whiteboard may be "infinite" in
extent. For example, the number of logical subdivisions (tiles) may
be as large as needed, subject only to memory storage and
addressing considerations. For example, if the collaboration server
utilizes 12-bit addressing, then the number of tile may be limited
only by the addressing system, and or the amount of memory
available in the whiteboard database. In some implementations, each
tile may be represented by a directory in a file storage system.
For example, with reference to FIG. 1D, six tiles are included in
one level of tiles, e.g., 108a-f. For each tile, a directory may be
created in the file system, e.g., 109a-f. In some implementations,
each tile may be comprised of a number of sub-tiles. For example, a
level 1 tile, e.g., 110, may be comprised of a number of level 2
tiles, e.g., 111a-d. In such implementations, each sub-tile may be
represented by a sub-folder in the file system, e.g., 113. In some
implementations, tiles at each level may be comprised of sub-tiles
of a lower level, thus generating a tree hierarchy structure, e.g.,
112-114. In some implementations, a folder representing a tile may
be storing a whiteboard object container. For example, a folder may
be named according to its tile ID, e.g., 115. For example, a folder
having tile ID [11 02 07 44] may represent the 44th tile at the
further level, under the 7th tile at the third level, under the 2nd
tile at the second level, under the 11th tile at the first level.
In some implementations, such a folder may have stored whiteboard
object container(s), e.g., 116a-d. The contents of the whiteboard
object container may represent the contents of the tile in the
digital whiteboard. The object container may include files such as,
but not limited to: bitmap images, scalable vector graphics (SVG)
files, eXtensible Markup Language (XML)/JavaScript.TM. object
notation files, and/or the like. Such files may include data on
objects contained within the digital collaboration whiteboard.
[0020] In some implementations, each file stored within a tile
folder may be named to represent a version number, a timestamp,
and/or like identification, e.g., 117a-d. Thus, various versions of
each tile may be stored in a tile folder. In some implementations,
each tile folder may include sub-folders representing layers of a
tile of the digital whiteboard. Thus, in some implementations, each
whiteboard may be comprised of various layers of tile objects
superimposed upon each other.
[0021] In some implementations, the hierarchical tree structure of
folders may be replaced by a set of folders, wherein the file names
of the folders represent the tile level and layer numbers of each
tile/layer in the digital whiteboard. Accordingly, in such
implementations, sub-tile/layer folders need not be stored within
their parent folders, but may be stored along side the parent
folders in a flat file structure.
[0022] In some implementations, a whiteboard object container,
e.g., 118, may include data representing various tile object that
may be display on the digital whiteboard. For example, the
whiteboard object container may include data standalone videos 121a
(e.g., a link to a stored video), image objects, e.g., 121b,
multi-page documents, e.g., 121c, freeform objects, e.g., 122, etc.
In some implementations, the whiteboard object container may
include a remote window object. For example, a remote window object
may comprise a link to another object, e.g., a video, RSS feed,
live video stream, client display screen, etc. For example, the
link between the remote window object and any other object may be
dynamically reconfigurable, e.g., 119. Thus, a remote window-linked
object, e.g., 120 may be dynamically configured within the space
reserved for the remote window within the digital whiteboard. Thus,
for example, a randomly varying video, contents of an RSS feed, may
be configured to display within the space reserved for the remote
window.
[0023] In some implementations, object metadata may be associated
with each tile object. For example, the metadata associated with a
object may include a description of the object, object properties,
and/or instructions for the DWC when the object is interrogated by
a user (e.g., modified, viewed, clicked on, etc.). For example, an
object may have associated XML-encoded data such as the example XML
data provided below:
TABLE-US-00001 <tile_object> <general_properties>
<object_id>AE1784</object_ID>
<owner_ID>john.q.public@collaborate.com</owner_ID>
<client_IP>129.88.79.102</client_IP>
<last_modified>2011010122:15:07</last_modified>
<drawdata_pointer>//11/02/07/44/
20110401092255</drawdata_pointer> </general_properties>
<display_properties> <origin>[25,251]</origin>
<visible>true</visible>
<shared>true</shared>
<dumb_window_link>false</dumb_window_link> <svg
width = "100%" height = "100%" version = "1.1"
xmlns=''http://www.w3.org/2000/svg''> <circle cx=''250''
cy=''75'' r=''33'' stroke=''blue'' stroke-width=''2''
fill=''yellow''/> <path d=''M250 150 L150 350 L350 350 Z''
/> <polyline points= ''0,0 0,20 20,20 20,40 40,40 40,80''
style=''fill:white;stroke:green;stroke-width:2''/> <polygon
points=''280,75 300,210 170,275'' style=''fill:#cc5500;
stroke:#ee00ee;stroke-width:1''/> </svg>
</display_properties> <context_instructions>
<left_click>left_menu.csv</left_click>
<right_click>right_menu.csv</right_click>
<middle_click>middle_menu.csv</middle_click>
<thumb_press>order:clear</thumb_press>
</context_instructions> </tile_object>
[0024] In some implementations, a client connected to a whiteboard
collaboration session may communicate with the collaboration server
to obtain a view of a portion of the digital whiteboard. For
example, a client 126 may have associated with it a client
viewport, e.g., a portion of the digital whiteboard 127 that is
projected onto the client's display, e.g., 128a. In such
implementations, the portion of tile objects, e.g., 129a extending
into the client viewport, e.g., 128a, of the client, e.g., 126, may
be depicted on the display of client 126. In some implementations,
a user may modify the client viewport of the client. For example,
the user may modify the shape of the client viewport, and/or the
position of the client viewport. For example, with reference to
FIG. 1I, the user may provide user input, e.g., touchscreen
gestures 130, to modify the client viewport from its state in 128a
to its state in 128b. Thus, the contents of the viewport may be
modified from tile object 129a to a portion of tile object 131. In
such a scenario, the portion of tile object 131 within the extent
of the modified client viewport will be displayed on the display of
client 126. In some implementations, the user may modify a tile
object, e.g., 129a into modified tile object 129b, e.g., via user
input 130. In such implementations, the modified tile object may be
displayed on the display of the client 126.
[0025] In some implementations, a plurality of users may be
utilizing clients to view portions of a digital whiteboard. For
example, with reference to FIG. 1J, client 133a may receive client
viewport data 135a comprising a depiction of the tile objects
extending into client viewport 134a. Client 133b may receive client
viewport data 135b comprising a depiction of the tile objects
extending into client viewport 134b. Similarly, client 133c may
receive client viewport data 135c comprising a depiction of the
tile objects extending into client viewport 134c. In some
scenarios, the client viewports of different client may not overlap
(e.g., those of client 133a and client 133c). In other scenarios,
the client viewports of two or more clients may overlap with each
other, e.g., the client viewports 134b and 134c of clients 133b and
133c. In such scenarios, when a client modifies a tile object
within the client's viewport, the modification of the tile object
may be reflected in all viewports into which the modified portion
of the tile object extends. Thus, in some implementations, a
plurality of users may simultaneously observe the modification of a
tile objects made by another user, facilitating collaborative
editing of the tile objects.
[0026] In some implementations, a user may utilize a client, e.g.,
137, to observe the modifications to a portion of a digital
whiteboard across time/versions. For example, a user may position
the client's viewport, e.g., 138, over a portion of the digital
whiteboard (e.g., via user gestures into the client 137), and
observe a time/version-evolution animation, e.g., 139, of that
portion of the digital whiteboard on the client device's display
using (time-stamped) versions, e.g., 136a-d, of the digital
whiteboard.
[0027] FIGS. 2A-B show data flow diagrams illustrating an example
procedure to initiate a whiteboarding session for a user in some
embodiments of the DWC. In some implementations, a user, e.g., 201,
may desire to join a collaborative whiteboarding session on a
digital whiteboard. For example, the user may utilize a client,
e.g., 202, to join the digital whiteboarding collaboration session.
The client may be a client device such as, but not limited to,
cellular telephone(s), smartphone(s) (e.g., iPhone.RTM.,
Blackberry.RTM., Android OS-based phones etc.), tablet computer(s)
(e.g., Apple iPad.TM., HP Slate.TM., Motorola Xoom.TM., etc.),
eBook reader(s) (e.g., Amazon Kindle.TM., Barnes and Noble's
Nook.TM. eReader, etc.), laptop computer(s), notebook(s),
netbook(s), gaming console(s) (e.g., XBOX Live.TM., Nintendo.RTM.
DS, Sony PlayStation.RTM. Portable, etc.), portable scanner(s)
and/or the like. The user may provide collaborate request input,
e.g., 211, into the client, indicating the user's desire to join
the collaborative whiteboarding session. In various
implementations, the user input may include, but not be limited to:
keyboard entry, mouse clicks, depressing buttons on a joystick/game
console, (3D; stereoscopic, time-of-flight 3D, etc.) camera
recognition (e.g., motion, body, hand, limb, facial expression,
gesture recognition, and/or the like), voice commands,
single/multi-touch gestures on a touch-sensitive interface,
touching user interface elements on a touch-sensitive display,
and/or the like. For example, the user may utilize user touchscreen
input gestures such as, but not limited to, the gestures depicted
in FIGS. 8A-I and FIGS. 9A-C. In some implementations, the client
may identify the user collaborate request input. For example, the
client may utilize a user input identification component such as
the User Gesture Identification ("UGI") component 1000 described
below in FIG. 10. Upon identifying the user collaborate request
input, the client may generate and provide a user whiteboard
request, e.g., 212, to a server, e.g., collaboration server 203.
For example, the client may provide a (Secure) HyperText Transport
Protocol ("HTTP(S)") POST message with a message body encoded
according to the eXtensible Markup Language ("XML") and including
the user collaborate request input information. An example of such
a HTTP(S) POST message is provided below:
TABLE-US-00002 POST /join.php HTTP/1.1 Host: www.collaborate.com
Content-Type: Application/XML Content-Length: 324 <?XML version
= "1.0" encoding = "UTF-8"?> <join_request>
<request_id>AJFY54</request_id>
<timestamp>2010-05-23 21:44:12</timestamp>
<user_ID>username@appserver.com</user_ID>
<client_IP>275.37.57.98</client_IP>
<client_MAC>EA-44-B6-F1</client_MAC>
<session_id>4KJFH698</session_id>
<session_name>work session 1</session_name>
</join_request>
[0028] In some implementations, the server (e.g., collaboration
server 203) may parse the user whiteboarding request, and extract
user credentials, e.g., 213, from the user whiteboarding request.
Based on the extracted user credentials, the server may generate an
authentication query, e.g., 214, for a database, e.g., users
database 204. For example, the server may query whether the user is
authorized to join the collaborative whiteboarding session. For
example, the server may execute a hypertext preprocessor ("PHP")
script including structured query language ("SQL") commands to
query the database for whether the user is authorized to join the
collaborative whiteboarding session. An example of such a PHP/SQL
command listing is provided below:
TABLE-US-00003 <?PHP header(`Content-Type: text/plain`);
mysql_connect("254.93.179.112",$DBserver,$password); // access
database server mysql_select_db("USERS.SQL"); // select database
table to search //create query $query = "SELECT authorized_flag
client_settings_list user_settings_list FROM UsersTable WHERE
user_id LIKE `%` $userid" AND client_mac LIKE `%` $clientMAC";
$result = mysql_query($query); // perform the search query
mysql_close("USERS.SQL"); // close database access ?>
[0029] In response to obtaining the authentication query, e.g.,
214, the database may provide, e.g., 215, an authentication
response to the server. In some implementations, the server may
determine, based on the authentication response, that the user is
authorized to join the collaborative whiteboarding session. In such
implementations, the server may parse the user whiteboarding
request and/or the authentication response, and obtain client
specifications for the client 202. For example, the server may
extract client specifications including, but not limited to:
display size, resolution, orientation, frame rate, contrast ratio,
pixel count, color scheme, aspect ratio, 3D capability, and/or the
like. In some implementations, using the client viewport
specifications, the server may generate a query for tile objects
that lie within the viewport of the client. For example, the server
may provide a tile objects query, e.g., 219, to a database, e.g.,
whiteboard database 205, requesting information on tile objects
which may form part of the client viewport content displayed on the
client 202. For example, the server may provide the tile IDs of the
tiles which overlap with the client viewport, and request a listing
of tile object IDs and tile object data for object which may
partially reside within the tile IDs. An example PHP/SQL command
listing for querying a database for tile objects data within a
single tile ID is provided below:
TABLE-US-00004 <?PHP header(`Content-Type: text/plain`);
mysql_connect("254.93.179.112",$DBserver,$password); // access
database server mysql_select_db("OBJECTS.SQL"); // select database
table to search //create query $query = "SELECT object_id
object_data WHERE tile_id LIKE `%` $tileID"; $result =
mysql_query($query); // perform the search query
mysql_close("OBJECTS.SQL"); // close database access ?>
[0030] In some implementations, the database may, in response to
the tile objects query 219, provide the requested tile objects
data, e.g., 220. For example, the database may provide a data
structure representative of a scalable vector illustration, e.g., a
Scalable Vector Graphics ("SVG") data file. The data structure may
include, for example, data representing a vector illustration. For
example, the data structure may describe a scalable vector
illustration having one or more objects in the illustration. Each
object may be comprised of one or more paths prescribing, e.g., the
boundaries of the object. Further, each path may be comprised of
one or more line segments. For example, a number of very small line
segments may be combined end-to-end to describe a curved path. A
plurality of such paths, for example, may be combined in order to
form a closed or open object. Each of the line segments in the
vector illustration may have start and/or end anchor points with
discrete position coordinates for each point. Further, each of the
anchor points may comprise one or more control handles. For
example, the control handles may describe the slope of a line
segment terminating at the anchor point. Further, objects in a
vector illustration represented by the data structure may have
stroke and/or fill properties specifying patterns to be used for
outlining and/or filling the object. Further information stored in
the data structure may include, but not be limited to: motion paths
for objects, paths, line segments, anchor points, etc. in the
illustration (e.g., for animations, games, video, etc.), groupings
of objects, composite paths for objects, layering information
(e.g., which objects are on top, and which objects appear as if
underneath other objects, etc.) and/or the like. For example, the
data structure including data on the scalable vector illustration
may be encoded according to the open XML-based Scalable Vector
Graphics "SVG" standard developed by the World Wide Web Consortium
("W3C"). An exemplary XML-encoded SVG data file, written
substantially according to the W3C SVG standard, and including data
for a vector illustration comprising a circle, an open path, a
closed polyline composed of a plurality of line segments, and a
polygon, is provided below:
TABLE-US-00005 <?XML version = "1.0" standalone = "no">
<!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC ''-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN''
''http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd''> <svg
width = "100%" height = "100%" version = "1.1"
xmlns=''http://www.w3.org/2000/svg''> <circle cx=''250''
cy=''75'' r=''33'' stroke=''blue'' stroke-width=''2''
fill=''yellow''/> <path d=''M250 150 L150 350 L350 350 Z''
/> <polyline points=''0,0 0,20 20,20 20,40 40,40 40,80''
style=''fill:white;stroke:green;stroke-width:2''/> <polygon
points=''280,75 300,210 170,275'' style=''fill:#cc5500;
stroke:#ee00ee;stroke-width:1''/> </svg>
[0031] In some implementations, the server may generate client
viewport data (e.g., bitmap, SVG file, video stream, RSS feed,
etc.) using the tile objects data and client viewport
specifications, e.g. 223. The server may provide the generated
client viewport data and client viewport specifications as
whiteboard session details and client viewport data, e.g., 224.
[0032] In some implementations, the client may render, e.g. 225,
the visualization represented in the client viewport data for
display to the user. For example, the client may be executing an
Adobe.RTM. Flash object within a browser environment including
ActionScript.TM. 3.0 commands to render the visualization
represented in the data structure, and display the rendered
visualization for the user. Exemplary commands, written
substantially in a form adapted to ActionScript.TM. 3.0, for
rendering a visualization of a scene within an Adobe.RTM. Flash
object with appropriate dimensions and specified image quality are
provided below:
TABLE-US-00006 // import necessary modules/functions import
flash.display.BitmapData; import flash.geom.*; import
com.adobe.images.JPGEncoder; // generate empty bitmap with
appropriate dimensions var bitSource:BitmapData = new BitmapData
(sketch_mc.width, sketch_mc.height); // capture snapsot of movie
clip in bitmap bitSource.draw(sketch_mc); var imgSource:Image = new
Image( ); imgSource.load(new Bitmap(bitSource, "auto", true)); //
generate scaling constants for 1280 .times. 1024 HD output var
res:Number = 1280 / max(sketch_mc.width, sketch_mc.height); var
width:Number = round(sketch_mc.width * res); var height:Number =
round(sketch_mc.height * res); // scale the image
imgSource.content.width = width; // JPEG-encode bitmap with 85%
JPEG compression image quality var jpgEncoder:JPGEncoder = new
JPGEncoder(85); var jpgStream:ByteArray =
jpgEncoder.encode(jpgSource);
[0033] In some implementations, the client may continuously
generate new scalable vector illustrations, render them in real
time, and provide the rendered output to the visual display unit,
e.g. 226, in order to produce continuous motion of the objects
displayed on the visual display unit connected to the client. In
some implementations, the DWC may contain a library of pre-rendered
images and visual objects indexed to be associated with one or more
of search result terms or phrases, such as Clip Art files, e.g.,
accessible through Microsoft.RTM. PowerPoint application
software.
[0034] FIGS. 3A-B show logic flow diagrams illustrating example
aspects of initiating a whiteboarding session for a user in some
embodiments of the DWC, e.g., a Whiteboard Collaborator Session
Initiation ("WCSI") component 300. In some implementations, a user
may desire to join a collaborative whiteboarding session on a
digital whiteboard. For example, the user may utilize a client to
join the digital whiteboarding collaboration session. The user may
provide collaborate request input, e.g., 301, into the client,
requesting that the user join the whiteboarding session (e.g., via
a whiteboarding app installed and/or executing on the client, such
as an iPhone.RTM./iPad.RTM. app, Adobe.RTM. Flash object,
JavaScript.TM. code executing within a browser environment,
application executable (*.exe) file, etc.). In some
implementations, the client may identify the user collaborate
request input. For example, the client may utilize a user input
identification component such as the User Gesture Identification
("UGI") component 1000 described below in FIG. 10. Upon identifying
the user collaborate request input, the client may generate and
provide a user whiteboard request, e.g., 302, to a collaboration
server. In some implementations, the collaboration server may parse
the user whiteboarding request and extract user credentials, e.g.,
303. Example parsers that the server may utilize are described
further below in the discussion with reference to FIG. 12. Based on
the extracted user credentials, the server may generate an
authentication query, e.g., 304, for a users database, e.g., by
executing PHP/SQL commands similar to the examples above. In some
implementations, the database may provide an authentication
response, e.g., 305. The server may parse the obtained
authentication response, and extract the authentication status of
the user/client, e.g., 306. If the user is not authenticated, e.g.,
307, option "No," the server may generate a login failure message,
and/or may initiate an error handling routine, e.g., 308.
[0035] In some implementations, upon authentication of the
user/client, e.g., 307, option "Yes," the server may generate a
collaborator acknowledgment, e.g., 309, for the user/client. The
client may obtain the server's collaborator acknowledgment, e.g.,
310, and in some implementations, display the acknowledgment for
the user, e.g., 311.
[0036] In some implementations, the server may parse the user
whiteboarding request and/or the authentication response, and
obtain client specifications for the client. For example, the
server may extract client specifications including, but not limited
to: display size, resolution, orientation, frame rate, contrast
ratio, pixel count, color scheme, aspect ratio, 3D capability,
and/or the like, using parsers such as those described further
below in the discussion with reference to FIG. 12. In some
implementations, e.g., where the client viewport specifications
have not been previously generated for the client being used by the
user, the server may generate client viewport specifications using
the specifications of the client. For example, the server may
utilize a component such as the example client viewport
specification component 400 discussed further below with reference
to FIG. 4. In some implementations, using the client viewport
specifications, the server may generate a query for tile objects
that lie within the viewport of the client. For example, the server
may provide a tile objects query, e.g., 314, to a whiteboard
database 205, requesting information on tile objects which may form
part of the client viewport content displayed on the client. For
example, the server may provide the tile IDs of the tiles which
overlap with the client viewport, and request a listing of tile
object IDs and tile object data for object which may partially
reside within the tile IDs. In some implementations, the database
may, in response to the tile objects query 314, provide the
requested tile objects data, e.g., 315. In some implementations,
the server may generate a whiteboard session object, e.g., 316,
using the client viewport specifications and/or the tile objects
data. In some implementations, the server may store the whiteboard
session object to a database, e.g., 317. In some implementations,
the server may generate client viewport data (e.g., bitmap, SVG
file, video stream, RSS feed, etc.) using the tile objects data and
client viewport specifications, e.g. 318. The server may provide
the generated client viewport data and client viewport
specifications, e.g., 319, to the client. In some implementations,
the client may render, e.g. 320, the visualization represented in
the client viewport data for display to the user and/or
continuously generate new scalable vector illustrations, render
them in real time, and provide the rendered output to the visual
display unit, e.g. 321, in order to produce continuous motion of
the objects displayed on the visual display unit connected to the
client.
[0037] FIG. 4 shows a logic flow diagram illustrating example
aspects of generating viewport specification for a client of a
whiteboarding session collaborator in some embodiments of the DWC,
e.g., a Client Viewport Specification ("CVS") component 400. In
some implementations, a DWC component, e.g., a collaboration
server, may obtain a request, e.g., 401, to generate new and/or
updated client viewport specifications for a client of a user
involved in, or seeking to join, a whiteboarding session within the
DWC. For example, the request may be in the form of a HTTP(S) POST
message with XML-encoded message body, similar to the examples
provided above. The DWC may parse the request, and extract a client
ID from the request. The DWC may generate a query, e.g., 403, for
existing client viewport specifications associated with the client
ID. For example, the DWC may utilize PHP/SQL commands to query a
database, similar to the examples provided above. If an existing
client viewport specification is available for the given client ID,
e.g., 404, option "Yes," the DWC may obtain the existing client
viewport specification, e.g., for a database. The DWC may parse the
request, and extract any operations required to be performed on the
existing client viewport specification (e.g., if the request is for
updating the client viewport specification). For example, the
request may include a plurality of client viewport modification
instructions (e.g., convert viewport from rectangular shape to
circular shape, modify the zoom level of the viewport, modify the
aspect ratio of the viewport, modify the position of the viewport,
etc.). The DWC may select each instruction, e.g., 407, and
calculate an updated client viewport specification based on the
instruction using the previous version of the client viewport
specification, e.g., 408. In some implementations, the DWC may
operate on the client viewport specifications using each of the
instructions, e.g., 409, until all client viewport modification
operations have been performed, e.g., 409, option "No." In some
implementations, the DWC may return the updated client viewport
specifications, e.g., 413.
[0038] In some implementations, the DWC may determine that there
are no existing client viewport specifications. In such
implementations, the DWC may generate client viewport specification
data variables, e.g., display size, resolution, shape, aspect
ratio, zoom level, [x,y] position, whiteboard layers visible, etc.,
e.g., 410. The DWC may initially set default values for each of the
client viewport specification variables. The DWC may obtain the
client device specifications (e.g., client's display monitor size,
pixel count, color depth, resolution, etc.), e.g., 411. Based on
the client's actual specifications, the DWC may calculate updated
client viewport specification using the client device
specifications and the default values set for each of the client
viewport specification variables. The DWC may return the calculated
updated client viewport specifications, e.g., 413.
[0039] FIG. 5 shows a logic flow diagram illustrating example
aspects of generating viewport content for a client of a
whiteboarding session collaborator in some embodiments of the DWC,
e.g., a Viewport Content Generation ("VCG") component 500. In some
implementations, a component of the DWC (e.g., collaboration
server) may obtain a request to update/generate client viewport
data to provide for a client involved in a whiteboarding session,
e.g., 501. In some implementations, the DWC may parse the request,
and extract a client ID from the request, e.g., 502. The DWC may
generate a query, e.g., 503, for client viewport specifications
associated with the client ID. For example, the DWC may utilize
PHP/SQL commands to query a database, similar to the examples
provided above. The DWC may obtain the existing client viewport
specification, e.g., from a database, e.g., 504. In some
implementations, the DWC may determine tile IDs of whiteboard tiles
that overlap with the client viewport of the client, e.g., 505. For
example, the DWC may calculate the extent of the client viewport
using the client viewport specifications (e.g., position
coordinates and length/width). Based on the extent of the client
viewport, the DWC may determine which of the tile the client
viewport extends into, and obtain the tile IDs of the determined
whiteboard tiles. In some implementations, the DWC may obtain tile
object data for all tile objects that lie within the tile IDs into
which the client viewport extends. For example, the DWC may query,
e.g., 506, for tile objects data of all tile objects that extend
into tiles that the client viewport also extends into. For example,
the DWC may obtain such data from a database, e.g., 507. In some
implementations, using the tile objects data, the DWC may generate
a rendered bitmap of the tiles corresponding to the determined tile
IDs using the tile objects data, e.g., 508. In alternate
implementations, the DWC may generate SVG files, video, documents,
and/or the like, objects that may be displayed on the client's
display monitor. In some implementations, the DWC may determine a
portion of the rendered bitmap that overlaps with the client
viewport, based on the client viewport specifications, e.g., 509.
The DWC may extract the determined portion of the rendered bitmap,
e.g., 510, and provide the portion as updated client viewport data
to the client, e.g., 511.
[0040] FIGS. 6A-C show data flow diagrams illustrating an example
procedure to facilitate collaborative whiteboarding among a
plurality of users in some embodiments of the DWC. In some
implementations, a user, e.g., 601a, may desire to collaborate with
other users, e.g., users 601b-c (FIG. 6C), in a collaborative
whiteboarding session. For example, the user may desire to modify
the contents of a digital whiteboard (e.g., one of a plurality of
digital whiteboards) included within the collaborative
whiteboarding session. For example, the user may utilize a client,
e.g., 602a, to participate in the digital whiteboarding
collaboration session. The user may provide whiteboard input, e.g.,
611, into the client, indicating the user's desire to modify the
collaborative whiteboarding session (e.g., modify the contents of a
digital whiteboard; modify a participating client's view of a
digital whiteboard, etc.). In various implementations, the
whiteboard input may include, but not be limited to: keyboard
entry, mouse clicks, depressing buttons on a joystick/game console,
(3D; stereoscopic, time-of-flight 3D, etc.) camera recognition
(e.g., motion, body, hand, limb, facial expression, gesture
recognition, and/or the like), voice commands, single/multi-touch
gestures on a touch-sensitive interface, touching user interface
elements on a touch-sensitive display, and/or the like. For
example, the user may utilize user touchscreen input gestures such
as, but not limited to, the gestures depicted in FIGS. 8A-I and
FIGS. 9A-C.
[0041] In some implementations, the client may capture the user's
whiteboard input, e.g., 612. The client may identify the user's
whiteboard input in some implementations. For example, the client
may utilize a user input identification component such as the User
Gesture Identification ("UGI") component 1000 described below in
FIG. 10, to identify gesture(s) made by the user on a touchscreen
display of the client to modify the collaborative whiteboarding
session. Upon identifying the user whiteboard input, the client may
generate and provide a whiteboard input message, e.g., 613, to a
server, e.g., collaboration server 603. For example, the client may
provide a (Secure) HyperText Transport Protocol ("HTTP(S)") POST
message with an XML-encoded message body including the user
whiteboard input and/or identified user gesture(s). An example of
such a HTTP(S) POST message is provided below:
TABLE-US-00007 POST /session.php HTTP/1.1 Host: www.collaborate.com
Content-Type: Application/XML Content-Length: 229 <?XML version
= "1.0" encoding = "UTF-8"?> <user_input>
<log_id>AJFY54</log_id> <timestamp>2010-05-23
21:44:12</timestamp>
<user_ID>username@appserver.com</user_ID>
<client_IP>275.37.57.98</client_IP>
<client_MAC>EA-44-B6-F1</client_MAC>
<session_id>4KJFH698</session_id> <gestures>
<1><id>FDKI28</id><related_text>john.q.-
public</related_text></1>
<2><id>DJ38FF</id><related_text>see marked
changes</related_text></2> </gestures>
</user_input>
[0042] In some implementations, the server (e.g., collaboration
server 603) may parse the user whiteboard input, and extract the
user ID, client ID, and/or user gestures from the whiteboard input
message, e.g., 614. Based on the extracted information, the server
may generate a whiteboard session query, e.g., 615, for the gesture
context, e.g., the viewport content of the client 602a being used
by the user. For example, the server may query a database, e.g.,
whiteboard database 605, for the client viewport specifications and
tile objects corresponding to the client viewport specifications.
An example PHP/SQL command listing for querying a database for
client viewport specifications, and tile objects data within a
single tile ID, is provided below:
TABLE-US-00008 <?PHP header(`Content-Type: text/plain`);
mysql_connect("254.93.179.112",$DBserver,$password); // access
database server mysql_select_db("USERS.SQL"); // select database
table to search //create query $query = "SELECT
client_viewport_coordinates WHERE client_id LIKE `%` $clientID";
$result = mysql_query($query); // perform the search query
mysql_close("USERS.SQL"); // close database access
mysql_select_db("OBJECTS.SQL"); // select database table to search
//create query $query = "SELECT object_id object_data WHERE tile_id
LIKE `%` $tileID"; $result = mysql_query($query); // perform the
search query mysql_close("OBJECTS.SQL"); // close database access
?>
[0043] In some implementations, the database may, in response to
the whiteboard session query, provide the requested client viewport
specifications and tile objects data, e.g., whiteboard session
object 616. For example, the database may provide an SVG data file
representing the tile objects and/or an XML data file representing
the client viewport specifications.
[0044] In some implementations, the server may determine the user's
intended instructions based on the user's gestures and the gesture
context, e.g., as retrieved from the database. For example, the
user's intended instructions may depend on the context within which
the user gestures were made. For example, each user gesture may
have a pre-specified meaning depending on the type of tile object
upon which the user gesture was made. For example, a particular
user gesture may have a pre-specified meaning depending on whether
the object above which the gesture was made was a video, or a
multi-page document. In some implementations, the tile object on
which the gesture was made may include gesture/context
interpretation instructions, which the server may utilize to
determine the appropriate instructions intended by the user. In
alternate implementations, the server and/or databases may have
stored gesture/context interpretation instructions for each type of
object (e.g., image, SVG vector image, video, remote window, etc.),
and similar user instructions may be inferred from a user gesture
above all objects of a certain type.
[0045] In some implementations, the server may extract the user
gesture context, e.g., 617, from the user whiteboard session
object. Using the gesture context (e.g., the object data), the
server may query a database, e.g., gestures database 606, for user
instructions lookup corresponding to the user gestures and/or user
gesture context. An example PHP/SQL command listing for querying a
database for user instruction lookup is provided below:
TABLE-US-00009 <?PHP header(`Content-Type: text/plain`);
mysql_connect("254.93.179.112",$DBserver,$password); // access
database server mysql_select_db("GESTURES.SQL"); // select database
table to search //create query $query = "SELECT user_instruction
WHERE gesture_id LIKE `%` $gestureID" AND copntext LIKE `%`
$user_context"; $result = mysql_query($query); // perform the
search query mysql_close("GESTURES.SQL"); // close database access
?>
[0046] In some implementations, the database may, in response to
the user instruction lookup request, provide the requested user
instruction lookup response, e.g., 619. In some implementations,
the server may also query, e.g., 621, for tile objects within the
client's viewport (e.g., using PHP/SQL commands similar to the
examples above), and obtain, e.g., 622, from the whiteboard
database 605, the tile objects data pertaining to tile objects
within the viewport of the client.
[0047] In some implementations, the server may parse the user
instruction lookup response and extract instructions to execute
from the response. For example, the user instruction lookup
response may include instructions to modify tile objects and/or
instructions to modify the client viewport(s) of client(s) in the
whiteboarding session. In some implementations, the server may
extract tile object modification instructions, e.g., 623, and
generate updated tile objects based on the existing tile object
data and the extract tile object modification instructions. In some
implementations, the server may parse the user instruction lookup
response and extract instructions to modify the viewport of
client(s). The server may generate, e.g., 624, updated client
viewport specifications and/or client viewport data using the
updated tile objects, existing client viewport specifications,
and/or extracted client viewport modification instructions. In some
implementations, e.g., where the tile objects have been modified,
the server may query (e.g., via PHP/SQL commands) for clients whose
viewport contents should be modified to account for the
modification of the tile objects and/or client viewport
specifications, e.g., 625. The server may provide, e.g., 626, the
query to the whiteboard database, and obtain, e.g., 627, a list of
clients whose viewport contents have been affected by the
modification. In some implementations, the server may refresh the
affected clients' viewports. For example, the server may generate,
for each affected client, updated client viewport specifications
and/or client viewport content using the (updated) client viewport
specifications and/or (updated) tile objects data, e.g, 629. In
some implementations, the server may store, e.g., 630-631, the
updated tile objects data and/or updated client viewport
specifications (e.g., via updated whiteboard session objects,
updated client viewport data, etc.). In some implementations, the
server may provide the (updated) whiteboard session details and/or
(updated) client viewport data, e.g., 632a-c, to each of the
affected client(s), e.g., 601a-c. In some implementations, the
client(s) may render, e.g. 633a-c, the visualization represented in
the client viewport data for display to the user, e.g., using data
and/or program module(s) similar to the examples provided above
with reference to FIG. 2. In some implementations, the client(s)
may continuously generate new scalable vector illustrations, render
them in real time, and provide the rendered output to the visual
display unit, e.g. 633a-c, in order to produce continuous motion of
the objects displayed on the visual display unit connected to the
client.
[0048] FIGS. 7A-D show logic flow diagrams illustrating example
aspects of facilitating collaborative whiteboarding among a
plurality of users in some embodiments of the DWC, e.g., a User
Collaborative Whiteboarding ("UCW") component 700. In some
implementations, a user may desire to collaborate with other users
in a collaborative whiteboarding session. For example, the user may
desire to modify the contents of a digital whiteboard (e.g., one of
a plurality of digital whiteboards) included within the
collaborative whiteboarding session. The user may provide
whiteboard input, e.g., 701, within a whiteboarding session into
the client, indicating the user's desire to modify the
collaborative whiteboarding session (e.g., modify the contents of a
digital whiteboard; modify a participating client's view of a
digital whiteboard, etc.). In some implementations, the client may
capture the user's whiteboard input. The client may identify the
user's whiteboard input in some implementations, e.g., 702. For
example, the client may utilize a user input identification
component such as the User Gesture Identification ("UGI") component
1000 described below in FIG. 10, to identify gesture(s) made by the
user on a touchscreen display of the client to modify the
collaborative whiteboarding session. Upon identifying the user
whiteboard input, the client may generate and provide a whiteboard
input message, e.g., 703, to a collaboration server.
[0049] In some implementations, the server may parse the user
whiteboard input, and extract the user ID, client ID, etc. from the
whiteboard input message, e.g., 704. Based on the extracted
information, the server may generate a whiteboard session query,
e.g., 705, for the gesture context, e.g., the viewport content of
the client being used by the user. In some implementations, a
database may, in response to the whiteboard session query, provide
the requested client viewport specifications and tile objects data,
e.g., whiteboard session object 706. For example, the database may
provide an SVG data file representing the tile objects and/or an
XML data file representing the client viewport specifications.
[0050] In some implementations, the server may parse the whiteboard
session object, and extract user context, e.g., client viewport
specifications, tile object IDs of tile objects extending into the
client viewport, client app mode (e.g., drawing/editing/viewing,
etc., portrait/landscape, etc.), e.g., 707. The server may parse
the whiteboard session object and extract user gesture(s) made by
the user into the client during the whiteboard session, e.g., 708.
The server may attempt to determine the user's intended
instructions based on the user's gestures and the gesture context,
e.g., as retrieved from the database. For example, the user's
intended instructions may depend on the context within which the
user gestures were made. For example, each user gesture may have a
pre-specified meaning depending on the type of tile object upon
which the user gesture was made. For example, a particular user
gesture may have a pre-specified meaning depending on whether the
object above which the gesture was made was a video, or a
multi-page document. In some implementations, the tile object on
which the gesture was made may include custom object-specific
gesture/context interpretation instructions, which the server may
utilize to determine the appropriate instructions intended by the
user. In alternate implementations, the server and/or databases may
have stored system-wide gesture/context interpretation instructions
for each type of object (e.g., image, SVG vector image, video,
remote window, etc.), and similar user instructions may be inferred
from a user gesture above all objects of a certain type.
[0051] In some implementations, the server may query a whiteboard
database for user instructions lookup corresponding to the user
gestures and/or user gesture context, e.g., 709. The database may,
in response to the user instruction lookup request, provide the
requested user instruction lookup response, e.g., 710. In some
implementations, the server may also query for tile objects within
the client's viewport the tile objects data pertaining to tile
objects within the viewport of the client.
[0052] In some implementations, the server may parse the user
instruction lookup response and extract instructions to execute
from the response, e.g., 711. For example, the user instruction
lookup response may include instructions to modify tile objects
and/or instructions to modify the client viewport(s) of client(s)
in the whiteboarding session. In some implementations, the server
may extract tile object modification instructions, e.g., 712. The
server may modify tile object data of the tile objects in
accordance with the tile object modifications instructions. For
example, the server may select a tile object modification
instruction, e.g., 714. The server may parse the tile object
modification instruction, and extract object IDs of the tile
object(s) to be operated on, e.g., 715. Using the tile object
modification instructions, the server may determine the operations
to be performed on the tile object(s). In some implementations, the
server may generate a query for the tile object data of the tile
object(s) to be operated on, e.g., 716, and obtain the tile object
data, e.g., 717, from a database. The server may generate updated
tile object data for each of the tile objects operated on, using
the current tile object data and the tile object modification
operations from the tile modification instructions, e.g., 718. In
some implementations, the server may store the updated tile object
data in a database, e.g., 719. In some implementations, the server
may repeat the above procedure until all tile object modification
instructions have been executed, see, e.g., 713.
[0053] In some implementations, the server may parse the user
instruction lookup response, e.g., 720, and extract client viewport
modification instructions, e.g., 721. The server may modify client
viewport specifications of the client(s) in accordance with the
viewport modifications instructions. For example, the server may
select a viewport instruction, e.g., 723. The server may parse the
viewport modification instruction, and extract client IDs for which
updated viewport specifications are to be generated, e.g., 724.
Using the viewport modification instructions, the server may
determine the operations to be performed on the client viewport
specifications. In some implementations, the server may generate a
whiteboard object query for the viewport specifications to be
operated, e.g., 725, and obtain the whiteboard session object
including the viewport specifications, e.g., 726, from a database.
The server may generate updated client viewport specifications for
each of the client viewports being operated on, using the current
client viewport specifications and the viewport modification
operations from the viewport modification instructions, e.g., 727.
For example, the server may utilize a component such as the client
viewport specification component 400 described with reference to
FIG. 4. In some implementations, the server may store the updated
client viewport specifications via an updated whiteboard
specification object in a database, e.g., 728. In some
implementations, the server may repeat the above procedure until
all tile object modification instructions have been executed, see,
e.g., 722.
[0054] In some implementations, e.g., where the tile objects and/or
client viewport specifications have been modified, the server may
query (e.g., via PHP/SQL commands) for clients whose viewport
contents should be modified to account for the modification of the
tile objects and/or client viewport specifications, e.g., 729-730.
The server may provide the queries to the whiteboard database, and
obtain, e.g., 731, a list of clients whose viewport contents have
been affected by the modification. In some implementations, the
server may refresh the affected clients' viewports. For example,
the server may generate, e.g., 732, for each affected client,
updated client viewport specifications and/or client viewport
content using the (updated) client viewport specifications and/or
(updated) tile objects data. For example, the server may utilize a
component such as the viewport content generation component 500
described with reference to FIG. 5. In some implementations, the
server may store, e.g., 733, the updated tile objects data and/or
updated client viewport specifications (e.g., via updated
whiteboard session objects, updated client viewport data, etc.). In
some implementations, the server may provide the (updated)
whiteboard session details and/or (updated) client viewport data,
e.g., 734, to each of the affected client(s). In some
implementations, the client(s) may render, e.g., 735, the
visualization represented in the client viewport data for display
to the user, e.g., using data and/or program module(s) similar to
the examples provided above with reference to FIG. 2. In some
implementations, the client(s) may continuously generate new
scalable vector illustrations, render them in real time, and
provide the rendered output to the visual display unit, e.g. 736,
in order to produce continuous motion of the objects displayed on
the visual display unit connected to the client.
[0055] FIGS. 8A-I show block diagrams illustrating example aspects
of a pie-menu user whiteboarding gesture system for digital
whiteboard collaboration in some embodiments of the DWC. In some
implementations, the DWC may provide a variety of features for the
user when the user provides input gestures into a client device
involved in a digital collaborative whiteboarding session. For
example, under a main menu 801, the DWC may provide a variety of
palette/drawing tools 802, library tools 803 and/or mini-map/finder
tools 804. For example, the DWC may provide a variety of
palette/drawing tools, including but not limited to: colors 802a,
stroke type 802b, precision drawing mode 802c, eraser 802d, cut
802e, effects 802f, styles 802g, tags 802h, undo feature 802i,
and/or the like. As another example, the DWC may provide library
tools such as, but not limited to: import/open file 803a, access
clipboard 803b, and/or the like 803c. As another example, the DWC
may provide mini-map/finder tools such as, but not limited to: zoom
804a, collaborators 804b, bookmarks 804c, timeline view 804d,
and/or the like.
[0056] In some implementations, a user may access a main menu by
pressing the touchscreen with a single finger, e.g., 805. In some
implementations, a menu, such a pie menu, e.g., 807, may be
provided for the user when the user attempts to access the main
menu by pressing a single finger on the touchscreen, e.g., 806. In
some implementations, the user may press a stylus against the
touchscreen, e.g., 808. In some implementations, the menu options
provided to the user may vary depending on whether the uses a
single finger touch or a single stylus touch.
[0057] In some implementations, a user may access a drawing menu by
swiping down on the touchscreen with three fingers, e.g., 809. In
some implementations, a menu, such a drawing menu, e.g., 811, may
be provided for the user when the user attempts to access the
drawing menu by swiping three fingers on the touchscreen, e.g.,
810. In some implementations, a drawing palette may include a
variety of tools. For example, the drawing palette may include a
drawing tool selector, e.g., 811, for selecting tools from a
drawing palette. In some implementations, a variety of commonly
used drawing tools may be provided separately for the user to
easily access. For example, an eraser tool, 811a, cut tool 811b,
tag tool 811c, help tool 811d, and/or the like may be provided as
separate user interface objects for the user to access.
[0058] In some implementations, a user may select a color from a
color picker tool within the drawing palette menu. For example, the
user may swipe three fingers on the touchscreen to obtain the
drawing palette, e.g., 812. From the drawing palette, the user may
select a color picker by tapping on an active color picker, e.g.,
813. Upon tapping the color picker, a color picker menu, e.g., 814
may be provided for the user via the user interface.
[0059] In some implementations, a user may tag an object within the
digital whiteboard, e.g., 815. For example, within the drawing
palette, the user may tap on a user interface element, e.g., 816.
In response, the user may be provided with a virtual keyboard 818,
as well as a virtual entry form 817 for the user to type a tag into
via the virtual keyboard.
[0060] In some implementations, a user may enter into a precision
drawing mode, wherein the user may be able to accurately place/draw
tile objects. For example, the user may place two fingers on the
touchscreen and hold the finger positions. For the duration that
the user holds the two-finger precision drawing gesture, the user
may be provided with precision drawing capabilities. For example,
the user may be able to precisely draw a line to the length,
orientation and placement of the user's choosing, e.g., 820.
Similarly, using other drawing tools, the user may be able to draw
precise circles, e.g., 821, rectangles, e.g., 822, and/or the like.
In general, it is contemplated the precision of any drawing tool
provided may be enhanced by entering into the precision drawings
mode by using the two-finger hold gesture.
[0061] In some implementations, a user may be able to toggle
between an erase and draw mode using a two-finger swipe. For
example, if the user swipes downwards, an erase mode may be
enabled, e.g., 824, while if the user swipes upwards, the draw mode
may be enabled, e.g., 825.
[0062] In some implementations, a user may be able to an overall
map of the whiteboard by swiping all five fingers down
simultaneously, e.g., 826. Upon performing a five-finger swipe,
e.g., 827, a map of the digital whiteboard, e.g., 828, may be
provided for the user. In some implementations, the user may be
able to zoom in or zoom out of a portion of the digital whiteboard
by using two fingers, and moving the two fingers either together
(e.g., zoom out) or away from each other (e.g., zoom in), see,
e.g., 829. In such an access map mode, a variety of features and/or
information may be provided for the user. For example, the user may
be provided with a micromap, which may provide an indication of the
location of the user's client viewport relative to the rest of the
digital whiteboard. The user may be provided with information on
other users connected to the whiteboarding session, objects within
the whiteboard, tags providing information on owners of objects in
the whiteboard, etc., a timeline of activity showing the amount of
activity as a function of time, and/or the like information and/or
features.
[0063] FIGS. 9A-C show block diagrams illustrating example aspects
of a chord-based user whiteboarding gesture system for digital
whiteboard collaboration in some embodiments of the DWC. With
reference to FIG. 9A, in some implementations, a chord-based
gesture system may utilize a number of variables to determine the
meaning of a user gesture, e.g., the intentions of a user to
instruct the DWC. For example, variables such as, but not limited
to: number of fingers/styli inputs in the chord 901, pressure and
area of application of pressure on each chord element 902,
contextual information about the object underneath the chord 903,
displacement, velocity, direction of the chord movement 904, timing
associated with the chord (e.g., length of hold, pause,
frequency/duty cycle of tapping, etc.), and/or the like, may affect
the interpretation of what instructions are intended by a gesture
made by the user. For example, with reference to FIG. 9B, chords of
various types may be utilized to obtain menus, perform drawing,
editing, erasing features, modify the view of the client, find
editing collaborators, and/or the like, see, e.g., 906. For
example, displacing a single finger of an empty portion of the
screen may automatically result in a draw mode, and a line may be
drawn on the screen following the path of the single finger, e.g.,
907. As another example, holding a finger down and releasing
quickly may provide a precision drawing mode, wherein when a finger
is drawn along the screen, a line ma be drawn with high precision
following the path of the finger, e.g., 908-909. As another
example, holding a finger down and releasing after a longer time
may provide menu instead of a precision drawing mode, e.g., 910. As
another example, when three fingers are placed on the screen in the
vicinity of each other, an eraser tool may be provided underneath
the position of the three-finger chord. When the three-finger chord
is displaced, an eraser tool may also be displaced underneath the
chord, thus erasing (portion of) objects over which the chord is
passed by the user, e.g., 911. As another example, with reference
to FIG. 9C, when two fingers as held down and quickly released, a
zoom tool may be provided for the user. The user may then place two
fingers down on the screen, and move the fingers together or away
from each other to zoom out or zoom in respectively, e.g., 912. As
another example, when two fingers are placed down and held for a
longer period of time, this may provide the user with a tool to
select an object on the screen, and modify the object (e.g., modify
the scale, aspect ratio, etc. of the object), e.g., 913. As another
example, when four or five fingers are placed down on the screen
and quickly released, the user may be provided with a pan function,
e.g., 914. As another example, when a user double-taps on a pan
indicator, the user may be provided with a zoon and/or overview
selection user interface element, e.g., 915. As the example above
describe, various gesture features may be provided depending on the
attributes of the chord, including, but not limited to: the number
of chord elements, timing of the chord elements, pressure/area of
the chord elements, displacement/velocity/acceleration/orientation
of the chord elements, and/or the like.
[0064] FIG. 10 shows a logic flow diagram illustrating example
aspects of identifying user gestures of a whiteboarding session
collaborator in some embodiments of the DWC, e.g., a User Gesture
Identification ("UGI") component 1000. In some implementations, a
user may provide input (e.g., one of more touchscreen gestures)
into a client, e.g., 1001. The client may obtain the user input raw
data, and identify a chord based on the raw data. For example, the
client may determine the number of fingers pressed onto the
touchscreen, whether a stylus was incorporated in the user touch
raw data, which fingers of the user were pressed onto the
touchscreen, and/or the like, e.g., 1002. The client may determine
the spatial coordinates of each of the chord elements (e.g.,
wherein each simultaneous finger/stylus touch is a chord element of
the chord comprised of the finger/stylus touches), e.g., 1003. For
example, the client may determine the [x,y] coordinates for each
chord element. In some implementations, the client may determine
the touch screen pressure for each chord element, area of contact
for each chord element (e.g., which may also be used to determine
whether a chord element is a finger or a stylus touch, etc.), e.g.,
1004. In some implementations, the client may determine time
parameters for each chord element of the chord, e.g., 1005. For
example, the client may determine such parameters such as hold
duration, touch frequency, touch interval, pause time, etc. for
each chord element of the chord and/or an average time for each
such parameter for the entire chord. In some implementations, the
client may determine motion parameters for each chord element of
the chord, e.g., 1006. For example, the client may determine
displacement, direction vector, acceleration, velocity, etc. for
each chord element of the chord. Based on the chord, the client may
determine whether the chord gesture is for modifying a client view,
or for modifying a tile object present in a digital whiteboard. In
some implementations, the client may generate a query (e.g., of a
database stored in the client's memory) to determine whether the
identified chord operates on the client viewport or tile objects.
If the client determines that the chord operates on a viewport,
e.g., 1008, option "Yes," the client may generate a query for a
gesture identifier, and associated instructions using the chord,
spatial location, touchscreen pressure, time parameters, motion
parameters, and/or the like. If the client determines that the
chord operates on tile object(s), e.g., 1008, option "No," the
client may identify the tile object(s) affected by the user input
using the location and motion parameters for the chord elements,
e.g., 1010. The client may determine whether the tile object(s) has
any associated context/gesture interpretation instructions/data,
e.g., loll. If the object does not have custom context
instructions, e.g., 1012, option "No," the client may utilize
system-wide context interpretation instructions based on the object
type of the tile object, e.g., 1013. If the object has custom
context instructions, e.g., 1012, option "Yes," the client may
obtain the customer object-specific context interpretation
instructions, e.g., 1014. In some implementations, the client may
determine the gesture identifier and associated instructions using
the chord, spatial location, touchscreen pressure, time parameters
and motion parameters, as well as object/system-specified context
interpretation instructions, e.g., 1015, and may return the user
gesture identifier and associated gesture instructions, e.g., 1016.
It is to be understood that any of the actions recited above may be
performed by the client and/or any other entity and/or component of
the DWC.
[0065] FIGS. 11A-B show block diagrams illustrating example aspects
of a whiteboarding telepresence system for digital whiteboard
collaboration in some embodiments of the DWC. In some
implementations, a plurality of users may be collaborating with
each other, for example, via a digital whiteboard collaboration
system as described above. In some implementations, the users may
be interacting with each other via other communication and/or
collaboration systems. In some implementations, a user, e.g.,
1101a, may desire to visually communicate with another user, e.g.,
1101b. The user 1101a may be utilizing a touchscreen interface,
e.g., 1102a, and user 1101b may be utilizing touchscreen interface
1102b. For example, the touchscreen interfaces may be operating ion
conjunction with other DWC components to provide a digital
whiteboard collaboration experience for the users. In some
implementations, the user may utilize a telepresence system, e.g.,
1103a-b, to enhance the collaborative session between the users.
For example, a user 1101a may be able to visualize 1101b via the
telepresence system. The user 1101a may be able to hear (e.g., via
a speaker system) and see (e.g., via auxiliary display) user 1101b.
The user 1101a may also be able to speak to user 1101b via a
microphone, and may be able to provide a video of himself (e.g.,
via a camera). Similarly, user 1101b may be able to see and hear
user 1101, and provide audio and video to user 1101a via user
1101b's telepresence interface.
[0066] In some implementations, users utilizing different types of
device may interactively collaborate via a telepresence system. For
example, with reference to FIG. 11B, user 1104a may be utilizing a
large-screen touch interface, e.g., 1105a, while a user 1104b may
be utilizing a portable device, e.g., 1105b. In such
implementations, the user interface of the collaborative session,
as well as the telepresence system, may be modified according to
the device being used by the user in the collaborative session. For
example, the user 1104a, utilizing the large-screen touch interface
1105a, may be utilizing an auxiliary telepresence system 1106a. The
user 1104b may, however, be utilizing a telepresence system inbuilt
into the device, e.g., 1106b. Accordingly, in some implementations,
the users may interact with each other via telepresence for
collaborative editing across a variety of user devices.
DWC Controller
[0067] FIG. 12 shows a block diagram illustrating example aspects
of a DWC controller 1201. In this embodiment, the DWC controller
1201 may serve to aggregate, process, store, search, serve,
identify, instruct, generate, match, and/or facilitate interactions
with a computer through various technologies, and/or other related
data.
[0068] Users, e.g., 1233a, which may be people and/or other
systems, may engage information technology systems (e.g.,
computers) to facilitate information processing. In turn, computers
employ processors to process information; such processors 1203 may
be referred to as central processing units (CPU). One form of
processor is referred to as a microprocessor. CPUs use
communicative circuits to pass binary encoded signals acting as
instructions to enable various operations. These instructions may
be operational and/or data instructions containing and/or
referencing other instructions and data in various processor
accessible and operable areas of memory 1229 (e.g., registers,
cache memory, random access memory, etc.). Such communicative
instructions may be stored and/or transmitted in batches (e.g.,
batches of instructions) as programs and/or data components to
facilitate desired operations. These stored instruction codes,
e.g., programs, may engage the CPU circuit components and other
motherboard and/or system components to perform desired operations.
One type of program is a computer operating system, which, may be
executed by CPU on a computer; the operating system enables and
facilitates users to access and operate computer information
technology and resources. Some resources that may be employed in
information technology systems include: input and output mechanisms
through which data may pass into and out of a computer; memory
storage into which data may be saved; and processors by which
information may be processed. These information technology systems
may be used to collect data for later retrieval, analysis, and
manipulation, which may be facilitated through a database program.
These information technology systems provide interfaces that allow
users to access and operate various system components.
[0069] In one embodiment, the DWC controller 1201 may be connected
to and/or communicate with entities such as, but not limited to:
one or more users from user input devices 1211; peripheral devices
1212; an optional cryptographic processor device 1228; and/or a
communications network 1213. For example, the DWC controller 1201
may be connected to and/or communicate with users, e.g., 1233a,
operating client device(s), e.g., 1233b, including, but not limited
to, personal computer(s), server(s) and/or various mobile device(s)
including, but not limited to, cellular telephone(s), smartphone(s)
(e.g., iPhone.RTM., Blackberry.RTM., Android OS-based phones etc.),
tablet computer(s) (e.g., Apple iPad.TM., HP Slate.TM., Motorola
Xoom.TM., etc.), eBook reader(s) (e.g., Amazon Kindle.TM., Barnes
and Noble's Nook.TM. eReader, etc.), laptop computer(s),
notebook(s), netbook(s), gaming console(s) (e.g., XBOX Live.TM.,
Nintendo.RTM. DS, Sony PlayStation.RTM. Portable, etc.), portable
scanner(s), and/or the like.
[0070] Networks are commonly thought to comprise the
interconnection and interoperation of clients, servers, and
intermediary nodes in a graph topology. It should be noted that the
term "server" as used throughout this application refers generally
to a computer, other device, program, or combination thereof that
processes and responds to the requests of remote users across a
communications network. Servers serve their information to
requesting "clients." The term "client" as used herein refers
generally to a computer, program, other device, user and/or
combination thereof that is capable of processing and making
requests and obtaining and processing any responses from servers
across a communications network. A computer, other device, program,
or combination thereof that facilitates, processes information and
requests, and/or furthers the passage of information from a source
user to a destination user is commonly referred to as a "node."
Networks are generally thought to facilitate the transfer of
information from source points to destinations. A node specifically
tasked with furthering the passage of information from a source to
a destination is commonly called a "router." There are many forms
of networks such as Local Area Networks (LANs), Pico networks, Wide
Area Networks (WANs), Wireless Networks (WLANs), etc. For example,
the Internet is generally accepted as being an interconnection of a
multitude of networks whereby remote clients and servers may access
and interoperate with one another.
[0071] The DWC controller 1201 may be based on computer systems
that may comprise, but are not limited to, components such as: a
computer systemization 1202 connected to memory 1229.
Computer Systemization
[0072] A computer systemization 1202 may comprise a clock 1230,
central processing unit ("CPU(s)" and/or "processor(s)" (these
terms are used interchangeably throughout the disclosure unless
noted to the contrary)) 1203, a memory 1229 (e.g., a read only
memory (ROM) 1206, a random access memory (RAM) 1205, etc.), and/or
an interface bus 1207, and most frequently, although not
necessarily, are all interconnected and/or communicating through a
system bus 1204 on one or more (mother)board(s) 1202 having
conductive and/or otherwise transportive circuit pathways through
which instructions (e.g., binary encoded signals) may travel to
effectuate communications, operations, storage, etc. The computer
systemization may be connected to a power source 1286; e.g.,
optionally the power source may be internal. Optionally, a
cryptographic processor 1226 and/or transceivers (e.g., ICs) 1274
may be connected to the system bus. In another embodiment, the
cryptographic processor and/or transceivers may be connected as
either internal and/or external peripheral devices 1212 via the
interface bus I/O. In turn, the transceivers may be connected to
antenna(s) 1275, thereby effectuating wireless transmission and
reception of various communication and/or sensor protocols; for
example the antenna(s) may connect to: a Texas Instruments WiLink
WL1283 transceiver chip (e.g., providing 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0,
FM, global positioning system (GPS) (thereby allowing DWC
controller to determine its location)); Broadcom BCM4329FKUBG
transceiver chip (e.g., providing 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, FM,
etc.), BCM28150 (HSPA+) and BCM2076 (Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, etc.); a
Broadcom BCM4750IUB8 receiver chip (e.g., GPS); an Infineon
Technologies X-Gold 618-PMB9800 (e.g., providing 2G/3G HSDPA/HSUPA
communications); Intel's XMM 7160 (LTE & DC-HSPA), Qualcom's
CDMA (2000), Mobile Data/Station Modem, Snapdragon; and/or the
like. The system clock may have a crystal oscillator and generates
a base signal through the computer systemization's circuit
pathways. The clock may be coupled to the system bus and various
clock multipliers that will increase or decrease the base operating
frequency for other components interconnected in the computer
systemization. The clock and various components in a computer
systemization drive signals embodying information throughout the
system. Such transmission and reception of instructions embodying
information throughout a computer systemization may be referred to
as communications. These communicative instructions may further be
transmitted, received, and the cause of return and/or reply
communications beyond the instant computer systemization to:
communications networks, input devices, other computer
systemizations, peripheral devices, and/or the like. It should be
understood that in alternative embodiments, any of the above
components may be connected directly to one another, connected to
the CPU, and/or organized in numerous variations employed as
exemplified by various computer systems.
[0073] The CPU comprises at least one high-speed data processor
adequate to execute program components for executing user and/or
system-generated requests. Often, the processors themselves will
incorporate various specialized processing units, such as, but not
limited to: floating point units, integer processing units,
integrated system (bus) controllers, logic operating units, memory
management control units, etc., and even specialized processing
sub-units like graphics processing units, digital signal processing
units, and/or the like. Additionally, processors may include
internal fast access addressable memory, and be capable of mapping
and addressing memory 1229 beyond the processor itself; internal
memory may include, but is not limited to: fast registers, various
levels of cache memory (e.g., level 1, 2, 3, etc.), RAM, etc. The
processor may access this memory through the use of a memory
address space that is accessible via instruction address, which the
processor can construct and decode allowing it to access a circuit
path to a specific memory address space having a memory
state/value. The CPU may be a microprocessor such as: AMD's Athlon,
Duron and/or Opteron; ARM's classic (e.g., ARM7/9/11), embedded
(Coretx-M/R), application (Cortex-A), embedded and secure
processors; IBM and/or Motorola's DragonBall and PowerPC; IBM's and
Sony's Cell processor; Intel's Atom, Celeron (Mobile), Core
(2/Duo/i3/i5/i7), Itanium, Pentium, Xeon, and/or XScale; and/or the
like processor(s). The CPU interacts with memory through
instruction passing through conductive and/or transportive conduits
(e.g., (printed) electronic and/or optic circuits) to execute
stored instructions (i.e., program code). Such instruction passing
facilitates communication within the DWC controller and beyond
through various interfaces. Should processing requirements dictate
a greater amount speed and/or capacity, distributed processors
(e.g., Distributed DWC), mainframe, multi-core, parallel, and/or
super-computer architectures may similarly be employed.
Alternatively, should deployment requirements dictate greater
portability, smaller mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, Personal
Digital Assistants (PDAs), etc.) may be employed.
[0074] Depending on the particular implementation, features of the
DWC may be achieved by implementing a microcontroller such as
CAST's R8051XC2 microcontroller; Intel's MCS 51 (i.e., 8051
microcontroller); and/or the like. Also, to implement certain
features of the DWC, some feature implementations may rely on
embedded components, such as: Application-Specific Integrated
Circuit ("ASIC"), Digital Signal Processing ("DSP"), Field
Programmable Gate Array ("FPGA"), and/or the like embedded
technology. For example, any of the DWC component collection
(distributed or otherwise) and/or features may be implemented via
the microprocessor and/or via embedded components; e.g., via ASIC,
coprocessor, DSP, FPGA, and/or the like. Alternately, some
implementations of the DWC may be implemented with embedded
components that are configured and used to achieve a variety of
features or signal processing.
[0075] Depending on the particular implementation, the embedded
components may include software solutions, hardware solutions,
and/or some combination of both hardware/software solutions. For
example, DWC features discussed herein may be achieved through
implementing FPGAs, which are a semiconductor devices containing
programmable logic components called "logic blocks", and
programmable interconnects, such as the high performance FPGA
Virtex series and/or the low cost Spartan series manufactured by
Xilinx. Logic blocks and interconnects can be programmed by the
customer or designer, after the FPGA is manufactured, to implement
any of the DWC features. A hierarchy of programmable interconnects
allow logic blocks to be interconnected as needed by the DWC system
designer/administrator, somewhat like a one-chip programmable
breadboard. An FPGA's logic blocks can be programmed to perform the
operation of basic logic gates such as AND, and XOR, or more
complex combinational operators such as decoders or simple
mathematical operations. In most FPGAs, the logic blocks also
include memory elements, which may be circuit flip-flops or more
complete blocks of memory. In some circumstances, the DWC may be
developed on regular FPGAs and then migrated into a fixed version
that more resembles ASIC implementations. Alternate or coordinating
implementations may migrate DWC controller features to a final ASIC
instead of or in addition to FPGAs. Depending on the implementation
all of the aforementioned embedded components and microprocessors
may be considered the "CPU" and/or "processor" for the DWC.
Power Source
[0076] The power source 1286 may be of any standard form for
powering small electronic circuit board devices such as the
following power cells: alkaline, lithium hydride, lithium ion,
lithium polymer, nickel cadmium, solar cells, and/or the like.
Other types of AC or DC power sources may be used as well. In the
case of solar cells, in one embodiment, the case provides an
aperture through which the solar cell may capture photonic energy.
The power cell 1286 is connected to at least one of the
interconnected subsequent components of the DWC thereby providing
an electric current to all the interconnected components. In one
example, the power source 1286 is connected to the system bus
component 1204. In an alternative embodiment, an outside power
source 1286 is provided through a connection across the I/O 1208
interface. For example, a USB and/or IEEE 1394 connection carries
both data and power across the connection and is therefore a
suitable source of power.
Interface Adapters
[0077] Interface bus(ses) 1207 may accept, connect, and/or
communicate to a number of interface adapters, frequently, although
not necessarily in the form of adapter cards, such as but not
limited to: input output interfaces (I/O) 1208, storage interfaces
1209, network interfaces 1210, and/or the like. Optionally,
cryptographic processor interfaces 1227 similarly may be connected
to the interface bus. The interface bus provides for the
communications of interface adapters with one another as well as
with other components of the computer systemization. Interface
adapters are adapted for a compatible interface bus. Interface
adapters may connect to the interface bus via expansion and/or slot
architecture. Various expansion and/or slot architectures may be
employed, such as, but not limited to: Accelerated Graphics Port
(AGP), Card Bus, ExpressCard, (Extended) Industry Standard
Architecture ((E)ISA), Micro Channel Architecture (MCA), NuBus,
Peripheral Component Interconnect (Extended) (PCI(X)), PCI Express,
Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA),
Thunderbolt, and/or the like.
[0078] Storage interfaces 1209 may accept, communicate, and/or
connect to a number of storage devices such as, but not limited to:
storage devices 1214, removable disc devices, and/or the like.
Storage interfaces may employ connection protocols such as, but not
limited to: (Ultra) (Serial) Advanced Technology Attachment (Packet
Interface) ((Ultra) (Serial) ATA(PI)), (Enhanced) Integrated Drive
Electronics ((E)IDE), Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) 1394, Ethernet, fiber channel, Small Computer
Systems Interface (SCSI), Thunderbolt, Universal Serial Bus (USB),
and/or the like.
[0079] Network interfaces 1210 may accept, communicate, and/or
connect to a communications network 1213. Through a communications
network 1213, the DWC controller is accessible through remote
clients 1233b (e.g., computers with web browsers) by users 1233a.
Network interfaces may employ connection protocols such as, but not
limited to: direct connect, Ethernet (thick, thin, twisted pair
10/100/1000 Base T, and/or the like), Token Ring, wireless
connection such as IEEE 802.11a-x, and/or the like. Should
processing requirements dictate a greater amount speed and/or
capacity, distributed network controllers (e.g., Distributed DWC),
architectures may similarly be employed to pool, load balance,
and/or otherwise increase the communicative bandwidth required by
the DWC controller. A communications network may be any one and/or
the combination of the following: a direct interconnection; the
Internet; a Local Area Network (LAN); a Metropolitan Area Network
(MAN); an Operating Missions as Nodes on the Internet (OMNI); a
secured custom connection; a Wide Area Network (WAN); a wireless
network (e.g., employing protocols such as, but not limited to a
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), I-mode, and/or the like);
and/or the like. A network interface may be regarded as a
specialized form of an input output interface. Further, multiple
network interfaces 1210 may be used to engage with various
communications network types 1213. For example, multiple network
interfaces may be employed to allow for the communication over
broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast networks.
[0080] Input Output interfaces (I/O) 1208 may accept, communicate,
and/or connect to user input devices 1211, peripheral devices 1212,
cryptographic processor devices 1228, and/or the like. I/O may
employ connection protocols such as, but not limited to: audio:
analog, digital, monaural, RCA, stereo, and/or the like; data:
Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), Bluetooth, IEEE 1394a-b, serial, universal
serial bus (USB); infrared; joystick; keyboard; midi; optical; PC
AT; PS/2; parallel; radio; video interface: Apple Desktop Connector
(ADC), BNC, coaxial, component, composite, digital, DisplayPort,
Digital Visual Interface (DVI), high-definition multimedia
interface (HDMI), RCA, RF antennae, S-Video, VGA, and/or the like;
wireless transceivers: 802.11a/b/g/n/x; Bluetooth; cellular (e.g.,
code division multiple access (CDMA), high speed packet access
(HSPA(+)), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), global system
for mobile communications (GSM), long term evolution (LTE), WiMax,
etc.); and/or the like. One output device may be a video display,
which may take the form of a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), Liquid Crystal
Display (LCD), Light Emitting Diode (LED), Organic Light Emitting
Diode (OLED), Plasma, and/or the like based monitor with an
interface (e.g., VGA, DVI circuitry and cable) that accepts signals
from a video interface. The video interface composites information
generated by a computer systemization and generates video signals
based on the composited information in a video memory frame.
Another output device is a television set, which accepts signals
from a video interface. Often, the video interface provides the
composited video information through a video connection interface
that accepts a video display interface (e.g., an RCA composite
video connector accepting an RCA composite video cable; a DVI
connector accepting a DVI display cable, HDMI, etc.).
[0081] User input devices 1211 often are a type of peripheral
device 1212 (see below) and may include: card readers, dongles,
finger print readers, gloves, graphics tablets, joysticks,
keyboards, microphones, mouse (mice), remote controls, retina
readers, touch screens (e.g., capacitive, resistive, etc.),
trackballs, trackpads, sensors (e.g., accelerometers, ambient
light, GPS, gyroscopes, proximity, etc.), styluses, and/or the
like.
[0082] Peripheral devices 1212 may be connected and/or communicate
to I/O and/or other facilities of the like such as network
interfaces, storage interfaces, directly to the interface bus,
system bus, the CPU, and/or the like. Peripheral devices may be
external, internal and/or part of the DWC controller. Peripheral
devices may include: antenna, audio devices (e.g., line-in,
line-out, microphone input, speakers, etc.), cameras (e.g., still,
video, webcam, etc.), dongles (e.g., for copy protection, ensuring
secure transactions with a digital signature, and/or the like),
external processors (for added capabilities; e.g., crypto devices
1228), force-feedback devices (e.g., vibrating motors), near field
communication (NFC) devices, network interfaces, printers, radio
frequency identifiers (RFIDs), scanners, storage devices,
transceivers (e.g., cellular, GPS, etc.), video devices (e.g.,
goggles, monitors, etc.), video sources, visors, and/or the like.
Peripheral devices often include types of input devices (e.g.,
microphones, cameras, etc.).
[0083] It should be noted that although user input devices and
peripheral devices may be employed, the DWC controller may be
embodied as an embedded, dedicated, and/or monitor-less (i.e.,
headless) device, wherein access would be provided over a network
interface connection.
[0084] Cryptographic units such as, but not limited to,
microcontrollers, processors 1226, interfaces 1227, and/or devices
1228 may be attached, and/or communicate with the DWC controller. A
MC68HC16 microcontroller, manufactured by Motorola Inc., may be
used for and/or within cryptographic units. The MC68HC16
microcontroller utilizes a 16-bit multiply-and-accumulate
instruction in the 16 MHz configuration and requires less than one
second to perform a 512-bit RSA private key operation.
Cryptographic units support the authentication of communications
from interacting agents, as well as allowing for anonymous
transactions. Cryptographic units may also be configured as part of
the CPU. Equivalent microcontrollers and/or processors may also be
used. Other commercially available specialized cryptographic
processors include: the Broadcom's CryptoNetX and other Security
Processors; nCipher's nShield (e.g., Solo, Connect, etc.),
SafeNet's Luna PCI (e.g., 7100) series; Semaphore Communications'
40 MHz Roadrunner 184; sMIP's (e.g., 208956); Sun's Cryptographic
Accelerators (e.g., Accelerator 6000 PCIe Board, Accelerator 500
Daughtercard); Via Nano Processor (e.g., L2100, L2200, U2400) line,
which is capable of performing 500+MB/s of cryptographic
instructions; VLSI Technology's 33 MHz 6868; and/or the like.
Memory
[0085] Generally, any mechanization and/or embodiment allowing a
processor to affect the storage and/or retrieval of information is
regarded as memory 1229. However, memory is a fungible technology
and resource, thus, any number of memory embodiments may be
employed in lieu of or in concert with one another. It is to be
understood that the DWC controller and/or a computer systemization
may employ various forms of memory 1229. For example, a computer
systemization may be configured wherein the operation of on-chip
CPU memory (e.g., registers), RAM, ROM, and any other storage
devices are provided by a paper punch tape or paper punch card
mechanism; however, such an embodiment would result in an extremely
slow rate of operation. In one configuration, memory 1229 may
include ROM 1206, RAM 1205, and a storage device 1214. A storage
device 1214 may employ any number of computer storage
devices/systems. Storage devices may include a drum; a (fixed
and/or removable) magnetic disk drive; a magneto-optical drive; an
optical drive (i.e., Blueray, CD ROM/RAM/Recordable (R)/ReWritable
(RW), DVD R/RW, HD DVD R/RW etc.); an array of devices (e.g.,
Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID)); solid state memory
devices (USB memory, solid state drives (SSD), etc.); other
processor-readable storage mediums; and/or other devices of the
like. Thus, a computer systemization generally requires and makes
use of memory.
Component Collection
[0086] The memory 1229 may contain a collection of program and/or
database components and/or data such as, but not limited to:
operating system component(s) 1215 (operating system); information
server component(s) 1216 (information server); user interface
component(s) 1217 (user interface); Web browser component(s) 1218
(Web browser); database(s) 1219; mail server component(s) 1221;
mail client component(s) 1222; cryptographic server component(s)
1220 (cryptographic server); the DWC component(s) 1235; and/or the
like (i.e., collectively a component collection). These components
may be stored and accessed from the storage devices and/or from
storage devices accessible through an interface bus. Although
non-conventional program components such as those in the component
collection may be stored in a local storage device 1214, they may
also be loaded and/or stored in memory such as: peripheral devices,
RAM, remote storage facilities through a communications network,
ROM, various forms of memory, and/or the like.
Operating System
[0087] The operating system component 1215 is an executable program
component facilitating the operation of the DWC controller. The
operating system may facilitate access of I/O, network interfaces,
peripheral devices, storage devices, and/or the like. The operating
system may be a highly fault tolerant, scalable, and secure system
such as: Apple Macintosh OS X (Server); AT&T Nan 9; Be OS; Unix
and Unix-like system distributions (such as AT&T's UNIX;
Berkley Software Distribution (BSD) variations such as FreeBSD,
NetBSD, OpenBSD, and/or the like; Linux distributions such as Red
Hat, Ubuntu, and/or the like); and/or the like operating systems.
However, more limited and/or less secure operating systems also may
be employed such as Apple Macintosh OS, IBM OS/2, Microsoft DOS,
Microsoft Windows 2000/2003/3.1/95/98/CE/Millenium/NT/Vista/XP
(Server), Palm OS, and/or the like. In addition, emobile operating
systems such as Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Hewlett Packard's
WebOS, Microsofts Windows Mobile, and/or the like may be employed.
Any of these operating systems may be embedded within the hardware
of the NICK controller, and/or stored/loaded into memory/storage.
An operating system may communicate to and/or with other components
in a component collection, including itself, and/or the like. Most
frequently, the operating system communicates with other program
components, user interfaces, and/or the like. For example, the
operating system may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or
provide program component, system, user, and/or data
communications, requests, and/or responses. The operating system,
once executed by the CPU, may enable the interaction with
communications networks, data, I/O, peripheral devices, program
components, memory, user input devices, and/or the like. The
operating system may provide communications protocols that allow
the DWC controller to communicate with other entities through a
communications network 1213. Various communication protocols may be
used by the DWC controller as a subcarrier transport mechanism for
interaction, such as, but not limited to: multicast, TCP/IP, UDP,
unicast, and/or the like.
Information Server
[0088] An information server component 1216 is a stored program
component that is executed by a CPU. The information server may be
an Internet information server such as, but not limited to Apache
Software Foundation's Apache, Microsoft's Internet Information
Server, and/or the like. The information server may allow for the
execution of program components through facilities such as Active
Server Page (ASP), ActiveX, (ANSI) (Objective-) C (++), C# and/or
.NET, Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts, dynamic (D) hypertext
markup language (HTML), FLASH, Java, JavaScript, Practical
Extraction Report Language (PERL), Hypertext Pre-Processor (PHP),
pipes, Python, wireless application protocol (WAP), WebObjects,
and/or the like. The information server may support secure
communications protocols such as, but not limited to, File Transfer
Protocol (FTP); HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP); Secure
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS), Secure Socket Layer (SSL),
messaging protocols (e.g., America Online (AOL) Instant Messenger
(AIM), Apple's iMessage, Application Exchange (APEX), ICQ, Internet
Relay Chat (IRC), Microsoft Network (MSN) Messenger Service,
Presence and Instant Messaging Protocol (PRIM), Internet
Engineering Task Force's (IETF's) Session Initiation Protocol
(SIP), SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions
(SIMPLE), open XML-based Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol
(XMPP) (i.e., Jabber or Open Mobile Alliance's (OMA's) Instant
Messaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), Yahoo! Instant Messenger
Service, and/or the like. The information server provides results
in the form of Web pages to Web browsers, and allows for the
manipulated generation of the Web pages through interaction with
other program components. After a Domain Name System (DNS)
resolution portion of an HTTP request is resolved to a particular
information server, the information server resolves requests for
information at specified locations on the DWC controller based on
the remainder of the HTTP request. For example, a request such as
http://123.124.125.126/myInformation.html might have the IP portion
of the request "123.124.125.126" resolved by a DNS server to an
information server at that IP address; that information server
might in turn further parse the http request for the
"/myInformation.html" portion of the request and resolve it to a
location in memory containing the information "myInformation.html."
Additionally, other information serving protocols may be employed
across various ports, e.g., FTP communications across port 21,
and/or the like. An information server may communicate to and/or
with other components in a component collection, including itself,
and/or facilities of the like. Most frequently, the information
server communicates with the DWC database 1219, operating systems,
other program components, user interfaces, Web browsers, and/or the
like.
[0089] Access to the DWC database may be achieved through a number
of database bridge mechanisms such as through scripting languages
as enumerated below (e.g., CGI) and through inter-application
communication channels as enumerated below (e.g., CORBA,
WebObjects, etc.). Any data requests through a Web browser are
parsed through the bridge mechanism into appropriate grammars as
required by the DWC. In one embodiment, the information server
would provide a Web form accessible by a Web browser. Entries made
into supplied fields in the Web form are tagged as having been
entered into the particular fields, and parsed as such. The entered
terms are then passed along with the field tags, which act to
instruct the parser to generate queries directed to appropriate
tables and/or fields. In one embodiment, the parser may generate
queries in standard SQL by instantiating a search string with the
proper join/select commands based on the tagged text entries,
wherein the resulting command is provided over the bridge mechanism
to the DWC as a query. Upon generating query results from the
query, the results are passed over the bridge mechanism, and may be
parsed for formatting and generation of a new results Web page by
the bridge mechanism. Such a new results Web page is then provided
to the information server, which may supply it to the requesting
Web browser.
[0090] Also, an information server may contain, communicate,
generate, obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user,
and/or data communications, requests, and/or responses.
User Interface
[0091] Computer interfaces in some respects are similar to
automobile operation interfaces. Automobile operation interface
elements such as steering wheels, gearshifts, and speedometers
facilitate the access, operation, and display of automobile
resources, and status. Computer interaction interface elements such
as check boxes, cursors, menus, scrollers, and windows
(collectively and commonly referred to as widgets) similarly
facilitate the access, capabilities, operation, and display of data
and computer hardware and operating system resources, and status.
Operation interfaces are commonly called user interfaces. Graphical
user interfaces (GUIs) such as the Apple Macintosh Operating
System's Aqua and iOS's Cocoa Touch, IBM's OS/2, Google's Android
Mobile UI, Microsoft's Windows 2000/2003/3.1/95/98/CE/Millenium/21
Mobile/NT/XP/Vista/7/8 (i.e., Aero, Metro), Unix's X-Windows (e.g.,
which may include additional Unix graphic interface libraries and
layers such as K Desktop Environment (KDE), mythTV and GNU Network
Object Model Environment (GNOME)), web interface libraries (e.g.,
ActiveX, AJAX, (D)HTML, FLASH, Java, JavaScript, etc. interface
libraries such as, but not limited to, Dojo, jQuery(UI), MooTools,
Prototype, script.aculo.us, SWFObject, Yahoo! User Interface, any
of which may be used and) provide a baseline and means of accessing
and displaying information graphically to users.
[0092] A user interface component 1217 is a stored program
component that is executed by a CPU. The user interface may be a
graphic user interface as provided by, with, and/or atop operating
systems and/or operating environments such as already discussed.
The user interface may allow for the display, execution,
interaction, manipulation, and/or operation of program components
and/or system facilities through textual and/or graphical
facilities. The user interface provides a facility through which
users may affect, interact, and/or operate a computer system. A
user interface may communicate to and/or with other components in a
component collection, including itself, and/or facilities of the
like. Most frequently, the user interface communicates with
operating systems, other program components, and/or the like. The
user interface may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or
provide program component, system, user, and/or data
communications, requests, and/or responses.
Web Browser
[0093] A Web browser component 1218 is a stored program component
that is executed by a CPU. The Web browser may be a hypertext
viewing application such as Goofle's (Mobile) Chrome, Microsoft
Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Apple's (Mobile) Safari,
embedded web browser objects such as through Apple's Cocoa (Touch)
object class, and/or the like. Secure Web browsing may be supplied
with 128 bit (or greater) encryption by way of HTTPS, SSL, and/or
the like. Web browsers allowing for the execution of program
components through facilities such as ActiveX, AJAX, (D)HTML,
FLASH, Java, JavaScript, web browser plug-in APIs (e.g., Chrome,
FireFox, Internet Explorer, Safari Plug-in, and/or the like APIs),
and/or the like. Web browsers and like information access tools may
be integrated into PDAs, cellular telephones, smartphones, and/or
other mobile devices. A Web browser may communicate to and/or with
other components in a component collection, including itself,
and/or facilities of the like. Most frequently, the Web browser
communicates with information servers, operating systems,
integrated program components (e.g., plug-ins), and/or the like;
e.g., it may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or provide
program component, system, user, and/or data communications,
requests, and/or responses. Also, in place of a Web browser and
information server, a combined application may be developed to
perform similar operations of both. The combined application would
similarly effect the obtaining and the provision of information to
users, user agents, and/or the like from the DWC equipped nodes.
The combined application may be nugatory on systems employing
standard Web browsers.
Mail Server
[0094] A mail server component 1221 is a stored program component
that is executed by a CPU 1203. The mail server may be an Internet
mail server such as, but not limited to Apple's Mail Server (3),
dovect, sendmail, Microsoft Exchange, and/or the like. The mail
server may allow for the execution of program components through
facilities such as ASP, ActiveX, (ANSI) (Objective-) C (++), C#
and/or .NET, CGI scripts, Java, JavaScript, PERL, PHP, pipes,
Python, WebObjects, and/or the like. The mail server may support
communications protocols such as, but not limited to: Internet
message access protocol (IMAP), Messaging Application Programming
Interface (MAPI)/Microsoft Exchange, post office protocol (POP3),
simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), and/or the like. The mail
server can route, forward, and process incoming and outgoing mail
messages that have been sent, relayed and/or otherwise traversing
through and/or to the DWC.
[0095] Access to the DWC mail may be achieved through a number of
APIs offered by the individual Web server components and/or the
operating system.
[0096] Also, a mail server may contain, communicate, generate,
obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data
communications, requests, information, and/or responses.
Mail Client
[0097] A mail client component 1222 is a stored program component
that is executed by a CPU 1203. The mail client may be a mail
viewing application such as Apple (Mobile) Mail, Microsoft
Entourage, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express, Mozilla,
Thunderbird, and/or the like. Mail clients may support a number of
transfer protocols, such as: IMAP, Microsoft Exchange, POP3, SMTP,
and/or the like. A mail client may communicate to and/or with other
components in a component collection, including itself, and/or
facilities of the like. Most frequently, the mail client
communicates with mail servers, operating systems, other mail
clients, and/or the like; e.g., it may contain, communicate,
generate, obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user,
and/or data communications, requests, information, and/or
responses. Generally, the mail client provides a facility to
compose and transmit electronic mail messages.
Cryptographic Server
[0098] A cryptographic server component 1220 is a stored program
component that is executed by a CPU 1203, cryptographic processor
1226, cryptographic processor interface 1227, cryptographic
processor device 1228, and/or the like. Cryptographic processor
interfaces will allow for expedition of encryption and/or
decryption requests by the cryptographic component; however, the
cryptographic component, alternatively, may run on a CPU. The
cryptographic component allows for the encryption and/or decryption
of provided data. The cryptographic component allows for both
symmetric and asymmetric (e.g., Pretty Good Protection (PGP))
encryption and/or decryption. The cryptographic component may
employ cryptographic techniques such as, but not limited to:
digital certificates (e.g., X.509 authentication framework),
digital signatures, dual signatures, enveloping, password access
protection, public key management, and/or the like. The
cryptographic component will facilitate numerous (encryption and/or
decryption) security protocols such as, but not limited to:
checksum, Data Encryption Standard (DES), Elliptical Curve
Encryption (ECC), International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA),
Message Digest 5 (MD5, which is a one way hash operation),
passwords, Rivest Cipher (RC5), Rijndael, RSA (which is an Internet
encryption and authentication system that uses an algorithm
developed in 1977 by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman),
Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA), Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Secure
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS), and/or the like. Employing
such encryption security protocols, the DWC may encrypt all
incoming and/or outgoing communications and may serve as node
within a virtual private network (VPN) with a wider communications
network. The cryptographic component facilitates the process of
"security authorization" whereby access to a resource is inhibited
by a security protocol wherein the cryptographic component effects
authorized access to the secured resource. In addition, the
cryptographic component may provide unique identifiers of content,
e.g., employing and MD5 hash to obtain a unique signature for an
digital audio file. A cryptographic component may communicate to
and/or with other components in a component collection, including
itself, and/or facilities of the like. The cryptographic component
supports encryption schemes allowing for the secure transmission of
information across a communications network to enable the DWC
component to engage in secure transactions if so desired. The
cryptographic component facilitates the secure accessing of
resources on the DWC and facilitates the access of secured
resources on remote systems; i.e., it may act as a client and/or
server of secured resources. Most frequently, the cryptographic
component communicates with information servers, operating systems,
other program components, and/or the like. The cryptographic
component may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or
provide program component, system, user, and/or data
communications, requests, and/or responses.
The DWC Database
[0099] The DWC database component 1219 may be embodied in a
database and its stored data. The database is a stored program
component, which is executed by the CPU; the stored program
component portion configuring the CPU to process the stored data.
The database may be any of a number of fault tolerant, relational,
scalable, secure databases, such as DB2, MySQL, Oracle, Sybase,
and/or the like. Relational databases are an extension of a flat
file. Relational databases consist of a series of related tables.
The tables are interconnected via a key field. Use of the key field
allows the combination of the tables by indexing against the key
field; i.e., the key fields act as dimensional pivot points for
combining information from various tables. Relationships generally
identify links maintained between tables by matching primary keys.
Primary keys represent fields that uniquely identify the rows of a
table in a relational database. More precisely, they uniquely
identify rows of a table on the "one" side of a one-to-many
relationship.
[0100] Alternatively, the DWC database may be implemented using
various standard data-structures, such as an array, hash, (linked)
list, struct, structured text file (e.g., XML), table, and/or the
like. Such data-structures may be stored in memory and/or in
(structured) files. In another alternative, an object-oriented
database may be used, such as Frontier, ObjectStore, Poet, Zope,
and/or the like. Object databases can include a number of object
collections that are grouped and/or linked together by common
attributes; they may be related to other object collections by some
common attributes. Object-oriented databases perform similarly to
relational databases with the exception that objects are not just
pieces of data but may have other types of capabilities
encapsulated within a given object. If the DWC database is
implemented as a data-structure, the use of the DWC database 1219
may be integrated into another component such as the DWC component
1235. Also, the database may be implemented as a mix of data
structures, objects, and relational structures. Databases may be
consolidated and/or distributed in countless variations through
standard data processing techniques. Portions of databases, e.g.,
tables, may be exported and/or imported and thus decentralized
and/or integrated.
[0101] In one embodiment, the database component 1219 includes
several tables 1219a-1. A Users table 1219a may include fields such
as, but not limited to: user ID, first_name, last_name,
middle_name, suffix, prefix, device_ID_list, device_name_list,
device_type_list, hardware_configuration_list, software_apps_list,
device_IP_list, device_MAC_list, device_preferences_list, and/or
the like. The Users table may support and/or track multiple entity
accounts on a DWC. A Clients table 1219b may include fields such
as, but not limited to: device_ID_list, device_name_list,
device_type_list, hardware_configuration_list, software_apps_list,
device_IP_list, device_MAC_list, device_preferences_list, and/or
the like. A Objects table 1219c may include fields such as, but not
limited to: size_pixels, resolution, scaling, x_position,
y_position, height, width, shadow_flag, 3D_effect_flag, alpha,
brightness, contrast, saturation, gamma, transparency, overlap,
boundary_margin, rotation_angle, revolution_angle, and/or the like.
An Apps table 1219d may include fields such as, but not limited to:
app_name, app_id, app_version, app_software_requirements_list,
app_hardware_requirements_list, and/or the like. A Gestures table
1219e may include fields such as, but not limited to: gesture_name,
gesture_type, assoc_code_module, num_users, num_inputs,
velocity_threshold_list, acceleration_threshold_list,
pressure_threshold_list, and/or the like. A Physics Models table
1219f may include fields such as, but not limited to: acceleration,
velocity, direction_x, direction_y, orientation_theta,
orientation_phi, object_mass, friction_coefficient_x,
friction_coefficient_y, friction_coefficient_theta,
friction_coefficient_phi, object_elasticity, restitution_percent,
terminal_velocity, center_of_mass, moment_inertia,
relativistic_flag, newtonian_flag, collision_type,
dissipation_factor, and/or the like. A Viewports table 1219g may
include fields such as, but not limited to: user_id, client_id,
viewport_shape, viewport_x, viewport_y, viewport_size_list, and/or
the like. A Whiteboards table 1219h may include fields such as, but
not limited to: whiteboard_id, whiteboard_name,
whiteboard_team_list, whiteboard_directory, and/or the like. An
Object Contexts table 1219i may include fields such as, but not
limited to: object_id, object_type, system_settings_flag,
object_menu_XML, and/or the like. A System Contexts table 1219j may
include fields such as, but not limited to: object_type,
system_settings_flag, system_menu_XML, and/or the like. A Remote
Window Contents table 1219k may include fields such as, but not
limited to: window_id, window_link, window_refresh_trigger, and/or
the like. A Market Data table 12191 may include fields such as, but
not limited to: market_data_feed_ID, asset_ID, asset_symbol,
asset_name, spot_price, bid_price, ask_price, and/or the like; in
one embodiment, the market data table is populated through a market
data feed (e.g., Bloomberg's PhatPipe, Dun & Bradstreet,
Reuter's Tib, Triarch, etc.), for example, through Microsoft's
Active Template Library and Dealing Object Technology's real-time
toolkit Rtt.Multi.
[0102] In one embodiment, the DWC database may interact with other
database systems. For example, employing a distributed database
system, queries and data access by search DWC component may treat
the combination of the DWC database, an integrated data security
layer database as a single database entity.
[0103] In one embodiment, user programs may contain various user
interface primitives, which may serve to update the DWC. Also,
various accounts may require custom database tables depending upon
the environments and the types of clients the DWC may need to
serve. It should be noted that any unique fields may be designated
as a key field throughout. In an alternative embodiment, these
tables have been decentralized into their own databases and their
respective database controllers (i.e., individual database
controllers for each of the above tables). Employing standard data
processing techniques, one may further distribute the databases
over several computer systemizations and/or storage devices.
Similarly, configurations of the decentralized database controllers
may be varied by consolidating and/or distributing the various
database components 1219a-1. The DWC may be configured to keep
track of various settings, inputs, and parameters via database
controllers.
[0104] The DWC database may communicate to and/or with other
components in a component collection, including itself, and/or
facilities of the like. Most frequently, the DWC database
communicates with the DWC component, other program components,
and/or the like. The database may contain, retain, and provide
information regarding other nodes and data.
The DWCs
[0105] The DWC component 1235 is a stored program component that is
executed by a CPU. In one embodiment, the DWC component
incorporates any and/or all combinations of the aspects of the DWC
discussed in the previous figures. As such, the DWC affects
accessing, obtaining and the provision of information, services,
transactions, and/or the like across various communications
networks. The features and embodiments of the DWC discussed herein
increase network efficiency by reducing data transfer requirements
the use of more efficient data structures and mechanisms for their
transfer and storage. As a consequence, more data may be
transferred in less time, and latencies with regard to
transactions, are also reduced. In many cases, such reduction in
storage, transfer time, bandwidth requirements, latencies, etc.,
will reduce the capacity and structural infrastructure requirements
to support the DWC's features and facilities, and in many cases
reduce the costs, energy consumption/requirements, and extend the
life of DWC's underlying infrastructure; this has the added benefit
of making the DWC more reliable. Similarly, many of the features
and mechanisms are designed to be easier for users to use and
access, thereby broadening the audience that may enjoy/employ and
exploit the feature sets of the DWC; such ease of use also helps to
increase the reliability of the DWC. In addition, the feature sets
include heightened security as noted via the Cryptographic
components 1220, 1226, 1228 and throughout, making access to the
features and data more reliable and secure.
[0106] The DWC component may transform user multi-element
touchscreen gestures via DWC components into updated digital
collaboration whiteboard objects, and/or the like and use of the
DWC. In one embodiment, the DWC component 1235 takes inputs (e.g.,
collaborate request input 211, authentication response 215, tile
objects data 220, whiteboard input 611, user whiteboard session
object 616, user instruction lookup response 619, tile objects data
622, affected clients data 627, user input raw data 1001,
object-specified context instructions 1014, system context
interpretation instructions 1013, and/or the like) etc., and
transforms the inputs via various components (e.g., WCSI 1241, CVS
1242, VCG 1243, UCW 1244, UGI 1245, and/or the like), into outputs
(e.g., collaborator acknowledgment 216, user whiteboard session
object 222, whiteboard session details 224, updated tile objects
data 630, updated user whiteboard session details 631-632a-c, user
gesture identifier 1016, and/or the like).
[0107] The DWC component enabling access of information between
nodes may be developed by employing standard development tools and
languages such as, but not limited to: Apache components, Assembly,
ActiveX, binary executables, (ANSI) (Objective-) C (++), C# and/or
.NET, database adapters, CGI scripts, Java, JavaScript, mapping
tools, procedural and object oriented development tools, PERL, PHP,
Python, shell scripts, SQL commands, web application server
extensions, web development environments and libraries (e.g.,
Microsoft's ActiveX; Adobe AIR, FLEX & FLASH; AJAX; (D)HTML;
Dojo, Java; JavaScript; jQuery(UI); MooTools, Prototype;
script.aculo.us, Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP); SWFObject;
Yahoo! User Interface; and/or the like), WebObjects, and/or the
like. In one embodiment, the DWC server employs a cryptographic
server to encrypt and decrypt communications. The DWC component may
communicate to and/or with other components in a component
collection, including itself, and/or facilities of the like. Most
frequently, the DWC component communicates with the DWC database,
operating systems, other program components, and/or the like. The
DWC may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or provide
program component, system, user, and/or data communications,
requests, and/or responses.
Distributed DWCs
[0108] The structure and/or operation of any of the DWC node
controller components may be combined, consolidated, and/or
distributed in any number of ways to facilitate development and/or
deployment. Similarly, the component collection may be combined in
any number of ways to facilitate deployment and/or development. To
accomplish this, one may integrate the components into a common
code base or in a facility that can dynamically load the components
on demand in an integrated fashion.
[0109] The component collection may be consolidated and/or
distributed in countless variations through standard data
processing and/or development techniques. Multiple instances of any
one of the program components in the program component collection
may be instantiated on a single node, and/or across numerous nodes
to improve performance through load-balancing and/or
data-processing techniques. Furthermore, single instances may also
be distributed across multiple controllers and/or storage devices;
e.g., databases. All program component instances and controllers
working in concert may do so through standard data processing
communication techniques.
[0110] The configuration of the DWC controller will depend on the
context of system deployment. Factors such as, but not limited to,
the budget, capacity, location, and/or use of the underlying
hardware resources may affect deployment requirements and
configuration. Regardless of if the configuration results in more
consolidated and/or integrated program components, results in a
more distributed series of program components, and/or results in
some combination between a consolidated and distributed
configuration, data may be communicated, obtained, and/or provided.
Instances of components consolidated into a common code base from
the program component collection may communicate, obtain, and/or
provide data. This may be accomplished through intra-application
data processing communication techniques such as, but not limited
to: data referencing (e.g., pointers), internal messaging, object
instance variable communication, shared memory space, variable
passing, and/or the like.
[0111] If component collection components are discrete, separate,
and/or external to one another, then communicating, obtaining,
and/or providing data with and/or to other components may be
accomplished through inter-application data processing
communication techniques such as, but not limited to: Application
Program Interfaces (API) information passage; (distributed)
Component Object Model ((D)COM), (Distributed) Object Linking and
Embedding ((D)OLE), and/or the like), Common Object Request Broker
Architecture (CORBA), Jini local and remote application program
interfaces, JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), Remote Method
Invocation (RMI), SOAP, process pipes, shared files, and/or the
like. Messages sent between discrete component components for
inter-application communication or within memory spaces of a
singular component for intra-application communication may be
facilitated through the creation and parsing of a grammar. A
grammar may be developed by using development tools such as lex,
yacc, XML, and/or the like, which allow for grammar generation and
parsing capabilities, which in turn may form the basis of
communication messages within and between components.
[0112] For example, a grammar may be arranged to recognize the
tokens of an HTTP post command, e.g.: [0113] w3c-post http:// . . .
Value1
[0114] where Value1 is discerned as being a parameter because
"http://" is part of the grammar syntax, and what follows is
considered part of the post value. Similarly, with such a grammar,
a variable "Value1" may be inserted into an "http://" post command
and then sent. The grammar syntax itself may be presented as
structured data that is interpreted and/or otherwise used to
generate the parsing mechanism (e.g., a syntax description text
file as processed by lex, yacc, etc.). Also, once the parsing
mechanism is generated and/or instantiated, it itself may process
and/or parse structured data such as, but not limited to: character
(e.g., tab) delineated text, HTML, structured text streams, XML,
and/or the like structured data. In another embodiment,
inter-application data processing protocols themselves may have
integrated and/or readily available parsers (e.g., JSON, SOAP,
and/or like parsers) that may be employed to parse (e.g.,
communications) data. Further, the parsing grammar may be used
beyond message parsing, but may also be used to parse: databases,
data collections, data stores, structured data, and/or the like.
Again, the desired configuration will depend upon the context,
environment, and requirements of system deployment.
[0115] For example, in some implementations, the DWC controller may
be executing a PHP script implementing a Secure Sockets Layer
("SSL") socket server via the information server, which listens to
incoming communications on a server port to which a client may send
data, e.g., data encoded in JSON format. Upon identifying an
incoming communication, the PHP script may read the incoming
message from the client device, parse the received JSON-encoded
text data to extract information from the JSON-encoded text data
into PHP script variables, and store the data (e.g., client
identifying information, etc.) and/or extracted information in a
relational database accessible using the Structured Query Language
("SQL"). An exemplary listing, written substantially in the form of
PHP/SQL commands, to accept JSON-encoded input data via SSL, parse
the data to extract variables, and store it in a database, is
provided below:
TABLE-US-00010 <?PHP header(`Content-Type: text/plain`); // set
ip address and port to listen to for incoming data $address =
`192.168.0.100`; $port = 255; // create a server-side SSL socket,
listen for/accept incoming communication $sock =
socket_create(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 0); socket_bind($sock,
$address, $port) or die(`Could not bind to address`);
socket_listen($sock); $client = socket_accept($sock); // read input
data from client device in 1024 byte blocks until end of message do
{ $input = ""; $input = socket_read($client, 1024); $data .=
$input; } while($input != ""); // parse data to extract variables
$obj = json_decode($data, true); // store input data in a database
mysql_connect(''201.408.185.132'',$DBserver,$password); // access
database server mysql_select(''CLIENT_DB.SQL''); // select database
to append mysql_query("INSERT INTO UserTable (transmission) VALUES
($data)"); // add data to UserTable table in a CLIENT database
mysql_close(''CLIENT_DB.SQL''); // close connection to database
?>
[0116] Also, the following provide example embodiments of SOAP and
other parser implementations, all of which are expressly
incorporated by reference herein:
TABLE-US-00011 [1]http://www.xav.com/perl/site/lib/SOAP/Parser.html
[2]http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v2r1/index.jsp?topic=
/com.ibm.IBMDI.doc/referenceguide295.htm
[3]http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v2r1/index.jsp?topic=
/com.ibm.IBMDI.doc/referenceguide259.htm
[0117] Non-limiting example embodiments highlighting numerous
further advantageous aspects include:
[0118] 1. A digital collaborative whiteboarding
processor-implemented method embodiment, comprising: [0119]
obtaining user whiteboard input from a client device of a user
participating in a digital collaborative whiteboarding session;
[0120] parsing the user whiteboard input to determine user
instructions; [0121] identifying a user instruction based on
parsing the user whiteboard input; [0122] modifying an attribute of
the digital collaborative whiteboarding session according to the
identified user instruction; [0123] generating updated client
viewport content for the client device; and [0124] providing the
updated client viewport content to the client device.
[0125] 2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein modifying the
attribute of the digital collaborative whiteboarding session
includes modifying a client viewport specification associated with
the client device.
[0126] 3. The method of embodiment 1, wherein modifying the
attribute of the digital collaborative whiteboarding session
includes modifying a tile object included in a digital whiteboard
that is part of the digital collaborative whiteboarding
session.
[0127] 4. The method of embodiment 3, further comprising: [0128]
determining that client viewport content of a second client device
should be modified because of modifying the tile object included in
the digital whiteboard; [0129] generating updated client viewport
content for the second client device after determining that the
client viewport content of the second client device should be
modified; and [0130] providing, to the second client device, the
updated client viewport content for the second client device.
[0131] 5. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the user whiteboard
input includes data on a touchscreen gesture performed by the
user.
[0132] 6. The method of embodiment 5, wherein the client device is
one of: a multi-user touchscreen device; and a mobile
touchscreen-enabled device.
[0133] 7. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the user instructions
include client viewport modification instructions and tile object
modification instructions.
[0134] 8. A digital collaborative whiteboarding system embodiment,
comprising: [0135] a processor; and [0136] a memory disposed in
communication with the processor and storing processor-executable
instructions to: [0137] obtain user whiteboard input from a client
device of a user participating in a digital collaborative
whiteboarding session; [0138] parse the user whiteboard input to
determine user instructions; [0139] identify a user instruction
based on parsing the user whiteboard input; [0140] modify an
attribute of the digital collaborative whiteboarding session
according to the identified user instruction; [0141] generate
updated client viewport content for the client device; and [0142]
provide the updated client viewport content to the client
device.
[0143] 9. The system of embodiment 8, wherein modifying the
attribute of the digital collaborative whiteboarding session
includes modifying a client viewport specification associated with
the client device.
[0144] 10. The system of embodiment 8, wherein modifying the
attribute of the digital collaborative whiteboarding session
includes modifying a tile object included in a digital whiteboard
that is part of the digital collaborative whiteboarding
session.
[0145] 11. The system of embodiment 10, the memory further storing
instructions to: [0146] determine that client viewport content of a
second client device should be modified because of modifying the
tile object included in the digital whiteboard; [0147] generate
updated client viewport content for the second client device after
determining that the client viewport content of the second client
device should be modified; and [0148] provide, to the second client
device, the updated client viewport content for the second client
device.
[0149] 12. The system of embodiment 8, wherein the user whiteboard
input includes data on a touchscreen gesture performed by the
user.
[0150] 13. The system of embodiment 12, wherein the client device
is one of: a multi-user touchscreen device; and a mobile
touchscreen-enabled device.
[0151] 14. The method of embodiment 8, wherein the user
instructions include client viewport modification instructions and
tile object modification instructions.
[0152] 15. A processor-readable tangible medium embodiment storing
processor-executable digital collaborative whiteboarding
instructions to: [0153] obtain user whiteboard input from a client
device of a user participating in a digital collaborative
whiteboarding session; [0154] parse the user whiteboard input to
determine user instructions; [0155] identify a user instruction
based on parsing the user whiteboard input; [0156] modify an
attribute of the digital collaborative whiteboarding session
according to the identified user instruction; [0157] generate
updated client viewport content for the client device; and [0158]
provide the updated client viewport content to the client
device.
[0159] 16. The medium of embodiment 15, wherein modifying the
attribute of the digital collaborative whiteboarding session
includes modifying a client viewport specification associated with
the client device.
[0160] 17. The medium of embodiment 15, wherein modifying the
attribute of the digital collaborative whiteboarding session
includes modifying a tile object included in a digital whiteboard
that is part of the digital collaborative whiteboarding
session.
[0161] 18. The medium of embodiment 17, further storing
instructions to: [0162] determine that client viewport content of a
second client device should be modified because of modifying the
tile object included in the digital whiteboard; [0163] generate
updated client viewport content for the second client device after
determining that the client viewport content of the second client
device should be modified; and [0164] provide, to the second client
device, the updated client viewport content for the second client
device.
[0165] 19. The medium of embodiment 15, wherein the user whiteboard
input includes data on a touchscreen gesture performed by the
user.
[0166] 20. The medium of embodiment 19, wherein the client device
is one of: a multi-user touchscreen device; and a mobile
touchscreen-enabled device.
[0167] 21. The medium of embodiment 15, wherein the user
instructions include client viewport modification instructions and
tile object modification instructions.
[0168] 22. A chord-based gesturing processor-implemented method
embodiment, comprising: [0169] obtaining user touchscreen data
input into a touchscreen device; [0170] identifying a chord from
the user touchscreen data input, the identification of the chord
including a number of elements included in the chord; [0171]
determining, via a processor, for each element included in the
chord, at least: [0172] a touchscreen pressure; [0173] a time
parameter; and [0174] a motion parameter; [0175] identifying a
gesture context for the chord based on a spatial coordinate for at
least one chord element of the chord; [0176] generating a database
lookup query for a user intention corresponding to the chord using
the identified gesture context, the touchscreen pressure, the time
parameters and the motion parameter; [0177] querying a database
using the generated database lookup query; and [0178] obtaining the
user intention corresponding to the chord based on querying the
database.
[0179] 23. The method of embodiment 22, wherein at least one of the
elements included in the chord is a stylus touch.
[0180] 24. The method of embodiment 22, wherein the time parameter
is a hold time.
[0181] 25. The method of embodiment 22, wherein the motion
parameters is a direction vector.
[0182] 26. The method of embodiment 22, wherein the touchscreen
device is one of: a multi-user touchscreen device; and a mobile
device.
[0183] 27. The method of embodiment 22, wherein the gesture context
for the chord includes a touchscreen object located at the spatial
coordinate for the at least one chord element of the chord.
[0184] 28. The method of embodiment 22, wherein the user intention
includes an intention to modify an object displayed on the
touchscreen device.
[0185] 29. A chord-based gesturing apparatus embodiment,
comprising: [0186] a processor; and [0187] a memory disposed in
communication with the processor and storing processor-executable
instructions to: [0188] obtain user touchscreen data input; [0189]
identify a chord from the user touchscreen data input, the
identification of the chord including a number of elements included
in the chord; [0190] determine, for each element included in the
chord, at least: [0191] a touchscreen pressure; [0192] a time
parameter; and [0193] a motion parameter; [0194] identify a gesture
context for the chord based on a spatial coordinate for at least
one chord element of the chord; [0195] generate a database lookup
query for a user intention corresponding to the chord using the
identified gesture context, the touchscreen pressure, the time
parameters and the motion parameter; [0196] query a database using
the generated database lookup query; and [0197] obtain the user
intention corresponding to the chord based on querying the
database.
[0198] 30. The apparatus of embodiment 29, wherein at least one of
the elements included in the chord is a stylus touch.
[0199] 31. The apparatus of embodiment 29, wherein the time
parameter is a hold time.
[0200] 32. The apparatus of embodiment 29, wherein the motion
parameters is a direction vector.
[0201] 33. The apparatus of embodiment 29, wherein the apparatus is
one of: a multi-user touchscreen device; and a mobile device.
[0202] 34. The apparatus of embodiment 29, wherein the gesture
context for the chord includes a touchscreen object located at the
spatial coordinate for the at least one chord element of the
chord.
[0203] 35. The apparatus of embodiment 29, wherein the user
intention includes an intention to modify an object displayed on
the apparatus.
[0204] 36. A processor-readable tangible medium embodiment storing
processor-executable chord-based gesturing instructions to: [0205]
obtain user touchscreen data input into a touchscreen device;
[0206] identify a chord from the user touchscreen data input, the
identification of the chord including a number of elements included
in the chord; [0207] determine, for each element included in the
chord, at least: [0208] a touchscreen pressure; [0209] a time
parameter; and [0210] a motion parameter; [0211] identify a gesture
context for the chord based on a spatial coordinate for at least
one chord element of the chord; [0212] generate a database lookup
query for a user intention corresponding to the chord using the
identified gesture context, the touchscreen pressure, the time
parameters and the motion parameter; [0213] query a database using
the generated database lookup query; and [0214] obtain the user
intention corresponding to the chord based on querying the
database.
[0215] 37. The medium of embodiment 36, wherein at least one of the
elements included in the chord is a stylus touch.
[0216] 38. The medium of embodiment 36, wherein the time parameter
is a hold time.
[0217] 39. The medium of embodiment 36, wherein the motion
parameters is a direction vector.
[0218] 40. The medium of embodiment 36, wherein the touchscreen
device is one of: a multi-user touchscreen device; and a mobile
device.
[0219] 41. The medium of embodiment 36, wherein the gesture context
for the chord includes a touchscreen object located at the spatial
coordinate for the at least one chord element of the chord.
[0220] 42. The medium of embodiment 36, wherein the user intention
includes an intention to modify an object displayed on the
apparatus.
[0221] 43. A digital whiteboard file system processor-implemented
method embodiment, comprising: [0222] obtaining a whiteboard input
from a participant in a collaborative digital whiteboarding
session; [0223] determining a whiteboarding instruction by parsing
the whiteboard input; [0224] modifying, via a processor, a file
system representative of the digital collaborative whiteboarding
session according to the identified whiteboard instructions; and
[0225] providing an indication of modification of the file
system.
[0226] 44. The method of embodiment 43, wherein the collaborative
digital whiteboarding session is modifiable by a plurality of
participants.
[0227] 45. The method of embodiment 43, further comprising: [0228]
generating a timestamp associated with the whiteboarding
instruction; and [0229] storing the timestamp in the modified file
system.
[0230] 46. The method of embodiment 43, wherein the file system
comprises a plurality of directories, each directory representing a
tile in a digital whiteboard; and [0231] wherein each directory
includes a tile content data structure storing tile content for the
tile in the digital whiteboard that the directory represents.
[0232] 47. The method of embodiment 46, wherein one of the
directories includes a plurality of tile content data structures,
wherein each of the plurality of tile content data structures is
associated with a unique timestamp.
[0233] 48. The method of embodiment 46, wherein one of the
directories includes a plurality of tile content data structures,
wherein each of the plurality of tile content data structure is
associated with a unique set of user identifications.
[0234] 49. The method of embodiment 46, wherein one of the
directories includes a plurality of tile content data structures,
wherein each of the plurality of tile content data structures
represents a layer within the digital whiteboard.
[0235] 50. The method of embodiment 46, wherein one of the
directories includes a sub-directory storing a sub-tile content
data structure including sub-tile content for a sub-tile in the
digital whiteboard that the sub-directory represents.
[0236] 51. The method of embodiment 46, wherein the tile content
includes at least one of: a remote window object; an audio-visual
object; and a multi-page document.
[0237] 52. The method of embodiment 46, wherein the tile content
data structure includes metadata associated with the stored tile
content.
[0238] 53. A digital whiteboard system embodiment, comprising:
[0239] a processor; and [0240] a memory disposed in communication
with the processor and storing processor-executable instructions
to: [0241] obtain a whiteboard input from a participant in a
collaborative digital whiteboarding session; [0242] determine a
whiteboarding instruction by parsing the whiteboard input; [0243]
modify, via the processor, a file system representative of the
digital collaborative whiteboarding session according to the
identified whiteboard instructions; and [0244] provide an
indication of modification of the file system.
[0245] 54. The system of embodiment 53, wherein the collaborative
digital whiteboarding session is modifiable by a plurality of
participants.
[0246] 55. The system of embodiment 53, the memory further stores
instructions to: [0247] generate a timestamp associated with the
whiteboarding instruction; and [0248] store the timestamp in the
modified file system.
[0249] 56. The system of embodiment 53, wherein the file system
comprises a plurality of directories, each directory representing a
tile in a digital whiteboard; and [0250] wherein each directory
includes a tile content data structure storing tile content for the
tile in the digital whiteboard that the directory represents.
[0251] 57. The system of embodiment 56, wherein one of the
directories includes a plurality of tile content data structures,
wherein each of the plurality of tile content data structures is
associated with a unique timestamp.
[0252] 58. The system of embodiment 56, wherein one of the
directories includes a plurality of tile content data structures,
wherein each of the plurality of tile content data structure is
associated with a unique set of user identifications.
[0253] 59. The system of embodiment 56, wherein one of the
directories includes a plurality of tile content data structures,
wherein each of the plurality of tile content data structures
represents a layer within the digital whiteboard.
[0254] 60. The system of embodiment 56, wherein one of the
directories includes a sub-directory storing a sub-tile content
data structure including sub-tile content for a sub-tile in the
digital whiteboard that the sub-directory represents.
[0255] 61. The system of embodiment 56, wherein the tile content
includes at least one of: a remote window object; an audio-visual
object; and a multi-page document.
[0256] 62. The system of embodiment 56, wherein the tile content
data structure includes metadata associated with the stored tile
content.
[0257] 63. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodiment
storing processor-executable digital whiteboard instructions to:
[0258] obtain a whiteboard input from a participant in a
collaborative digital whiteboarding session; [0259] determine a
whiteboarding instruction by parsing the whiteboard input; [0260]
modify, via the processor, a file system representative of the
digital collaborative whiteboarding session according to the
identified whiteboard instructions; and [0261] provide an
indication of modification of the file system.
[0262] 64. The medium of embodiment 63, wherein the collaborative
digital whiteboarding session is modifiable by a plurality of
participants.
[0263] 65. The medium of embodiment 63, further storing
instructions to: [0264] generate a timestamp associated with the
whiteboarding instruction; and [0265] store the timestamp in the
modified file system.
[0266] 66. The medium of embodiment 63, wherein the file system
comprises a plurality of directories, each directory representing a
tile in a digital whiteboard; and [0267] wherein each directory
includes a tile content data structure storing tile content for the
tile in the digital whiteboard that the directory represents.
[0268] 67. The medium of embodiment 66, wherein one of the
directories includes a plurality of tile content data structures,
wherein each of the plurality of tile content data structures is
associated with a unique timestamp.
[0269] 68. The medium of embodiment 66, wherein one of the
directories includes a plurality of tile content data structures,
wherein each of the plurality of tile content data structure is
associated with a unique set of user identifications.
[0270] 69. The medium of embodiment 66, wherein one of the
directories includes a plurality of tile content data structures,
wherein each of the plurality of tile content data structures
represents a layer within the digital whiteboard.
[0271] 70. The medium of embodiment 66, wherein one of the
directories includes a sub-directory storing a sub-tile content
data structure including sub-tile content for a sub-tile in the
digital whiteboard that the sub-directory represents.
[0272] 71. The medium of embodiment 66, wherein the tile content
includes at least one of: a remote window object; an audio-visual
object; and a multi-page document.
[0273] 72. The medium of embodiment 66, wherein the tile content
data structure includes metadata associated with the stored tile
content.
[0274] 73. A digital whiteboard viewer processor-implemented method
embodiment, comprising: [0275] obtaining a user gesture input via a
touchscreen interface of a device; [0276] identifying a user
whiteboarding instruction based on the obtained user gesture input;
[0277] generating a user whiteboard message including the user
whiteboarding instruction for providing into a collaborative
digital whiteboarding session; [0278] providing the user whiteboard
message to a digital whiteboard server; [0279] obtaining client
viewport data in response to the user whiteboard message; [0280]
rendering, via the device, a client viewport screen based on the
client viewport data; and [0281] displaying the rendered client
viewport screen via the touchscreen interface of the device.
[0282] 74. The method of embodiment 73, wherein the device is a
mobile device.
[0283] 75. The method of embodiment 73, wherein the user
whiteboarding instruction is a client viewport modification
instruction.
[0284] 76. The method of embodiment 73, wherein the user
whiteboarding instruction includes an instruction to modify a tile
object displayed within the client viewport screen via the
touchscreen interface of the device.
[0285] 77. The method of embodiment 73, wherein the user
whiteboarding instructions includes an instruction to display an
evolution of tile content displayed within the client viewport
screen via the touchscreen interface of the device.
[0286] 78. The method of embodiment 77, wherein the evolution of
the tile content is presented as a video file.
[0287] 79. The method of embodiment 77, wherein the wherein the
tile content includes at least one of: a remote window object; an
audio-visual object; and a multi-page document.
[0288] 80. The method of embodiment 73, wherein the rendered client
viewport screen depicts tile content of a portion of a tile
included in the digital collaborative whiteboarding session.
[0289] 81. The method of embodiment 75, wherein the client viewport
modification instruction includes an instruction to modify the
content of the rendered client viewport screen to depict content of
another rendered client viewport screen of another device
participating in the digital collaborative whiteboarding
session.
[0290] 82. The method of embodiment 75, wherein the rendered client
viewport screen is customized automatically to an attribute of the
touchscreen interface of the device.
[0291] 83. A digital whiteboard viewer apparatus embodiment,
comprising: [0292] a processor; and [0293] a memory disposed in
communication with the processor and storing processor-executable
instructions to: [0294] obtain a user gesture input via a
touchscreen interface of a device; [0295] identify a user
whiteboarding instruction based on the obtained user gesture input;
[0296] generate a user whiteboard message including the user
whiteboarding instruction for providing into a collaborative
digital whiteboarding session; [0297] provide the user whiteboard
message to a digital whiteboard server; [0298] obtain client
viewport data in response to the user whiteboard message; [0299]
render, via the device, a client viewport screen based on the
client viewport data; and [0300] display the rendered client
viewport screen via the touchscreen interface of the device.
[0301] 84. The apparatus of embodiment 83, wherein the device is a
mobile device.
[0302] 85. The apparatus of embodiment 83, wherein the user
whiteboarding instruction is a client viewport modification
instruction.
[0303] 86. The apparatus of embodiment 83, wherein the user
whiteboarding instruction includes an instruction to modify a tile
object displayed within the client viewport screen via the
touchscreen interface of the device.
[0304] 87. The apparatus of embodiment 83, wherein the user
whiteboarding instructions includes an instruction to display an
evolution of tile content displayed within the client viewport
screen via the touchscreen interface of the device.
[0305] 88. The apparatus of embodiment 87, wherein the evolution of
the tile content is presented as a video file.
[0306] 89. The apparatus of embodiment 87, wherein the wherein the
tile content includes at least one of: a remote window object; an
audio-visual object; and a multi-page document.
[0307] 90. The apparatus of embodiment 83, wherein the rendered
client viewport screen depicts tile content of a portion of a tile
included in the digital collaborative whiteboarding session.
[0308] 91. The apparatus of embodiment 85, wherein the client
viewport modification instruction includes an instruction to modify
the content of the rendered client viewport screen to depict
content of another rendered client viewport screen of another
device participating in the digital collaborative whiteboarding
session.
[0309] 92. The apparatus of embodiment 85, wherein the rendered
client viewport screen is customized automatically to an attribute
of the touchscreen interface of the device.
[0310] 93. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodiment
storing processor-executable digital whiteboard viewer instructions
to: [0311] obtain a user gesture input via a touchscreen interface
of a device; [0312] identify a user whiteboarding instruction based
on the obtained user gesture input; [0313] generate a user
whiteboard message including the user whiteboarding instruction for
providing into a collaborative digital whiteboarding session;
[0314] provide the user whiteboard message to a digital whiteboard
server; [0315] obtain client viewport data in response to the user
whiteboard message; [0316] render, via the device, a client
viewport screen based on the client viewport data; and [0317]
display the rendered client viewport screen via the touchscreen
interface of the device.
[0318] 94. The medium of embodiment 93, wherein the device is a
mobile device.
[0319] 95. The medium of embodiment 93, wherein the user
whiteboarding instruction is a client viewport modification
instruction.
[0320] 96. The medium of embodiment 93, wherein the user
whiteboarding instruction includes an instruction to modify a tile
object displayed within the client viewport screen via the
touchscreen interface of the device.
[0321] 97. The medium of embodiment 93, wherein the user
whiteboarding instructions includes an instruction to display an
evolution of tile content displayed within the client viewport
screen via the touchscreen interface of the device.
[0322] 98. The medium of embodiment 97, wherein the evolution of
the tile content is presented as a video file.
[0323] 99. The medium of embodiment 97, wherein the wherein the
tile content includes at least one of: a remote window object; an
audio-visual object; and a multi-page document.
[0324] 100. The medium of embodiment 93, wherein the rendered
client viewport screen depicts tile content of a portion of a tile
included in the digital collaborative whiteboarding session.
[0325] 101. The medium of embodiment 95, wherein the client
viewport modification instruction includes an instruction to modify
the content of the rendered client viewport screen to depict
content of another rendered client viewport screen of another
device participating in the digital collaborative whiteboarding
session.
[0326] 102. The medium of embodiment 95, wherein the rendered
client viewport screen is customized automatically to an attribute
of the touchscreen interface of the device.
[0327] In order to address various issues and advance the art, the
entirety of this application for DIGITAL WHITEBOARD COLLABORATION
APPARATUSES, METHODS AND SYSTEMS (including the Cover Page, Title,
Headings, Field, Background, Summary, Brief Description of the
Drawings, Detailed Description, Claims, Abstract, Figures,
Appendices and/or otherwise) shows by way of illustration various
example embodiments in which the claimed innovations may be
practiced. The advantages and features of the application are of a
representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive
and/or exclusive. They are presented only to assist in
understanding and teach the claimed principles. It should be
understood that they are not representative of all claimed
innovations. As such, certain aspects of the disclosure have not
been discussed herein. That alternate embodiments may not have been
presented for a specific portion of the innovations or that further
undescribed alternate embodiments may be available for a portion is
not to be considered a disclaimer of those alternate embodiments.
It will be appreciated that many of those undescribed embodiments
incorporate the same principles of the innovations and others are
equivalent. Thus, it is to be understood that other embodiments may
be utilized and functional, logical, operational, organizational,
structural and/or topological modifications may be made without
departing from the scope and/or spirit of the disclosure. As such,
all examples and/or embodiments are deemed to be non-limiting
throughout this disclosure. Also, no inference should be drawn
regarding those embodiments discussed herein relative to those not
discussed herein other than it is as such for purposes of reducing
space and repetition. For instance, it is to be understood that the
logical and/or topological structure of any combination of any data
flow sequence(s), program components (a component collection),
other components and/or any present feature sets as described in
the figures and/or throughout are not limited to a fixed operating
order and/or arrangement, but rather, any disclosed order is
exemplary and all equivalents, regardless of order, are
contemplated by the disclosure. Furthermore, it is to be understood
that such features are not limited to serial execution, but rather,
any number of threads, processes, processors, services, servers,
and/or the like that may execute asynchronously, concurrently, in
parallel, simultaneously, synchronously, and/or the like are also
contemplated by the disclosure. As such, some of these features may
be mutually contradictory, in that they cannot be simultaneously
present in a single embodiment. Similarly, some features are
applicable to one aspect of the innovations, and inapplicable to
others. In addition, the disclosure includes other innovations not
presently claimed. Applicant reserves all rights in those presently
unclaimed innovations, including the right to claim such
innovations, file additional applications, continuations,
continuations-in-part, divisions, and/or the like thereof. As such,
it should be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples,
functional, features, logical, operational, organizational,
structural, topological, and/or other aspects of the disclosure are
not to be considered limitations on the disclosure as defined by
the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims. It is to be
understood that, depending on the particular needs and/or
characteristics of a DWC individual and/or enterprise user,
database configuration and/or relational model, data type, data
transmission and/or network framework, syntax structure, and/or the
like, various embodiments of the DWC may be implemented that allow
a great deal of flexibility and customization. For example, aspects
of the DWC may be adapted for negotiations, mediation, group think
studies, crowd-sourcing applications, and/or the like. While
various embodiments and discussions of the DWC have been directed
to digital collaboration, however, it is to be understood that the
embodiments described herein may be readily configured and/or
customized for a wide variety of other applications and/or
implementations.
* * * * *
References